With the news that Arnold Ventures, the Texas group funding the spy plane, is declining to expand the program to St. Louis, it is time for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to finally put an end to this sorry experiment (”Baltimore’s surveillance plane contract could be terminated by spending board this week,” Feb. 1). It was an unconstitutional method of conducting surveillance on people who have not been accused or suspected of a crime that was done without the consent of Baltimore’s voters. We should never have been treated like guinea pigs to be used in a billionaire’s experiment in mass surveillance.
It was not even effective at solving crimes (”The jury is in: Spy plane is out,” Jan. 28). The meager improvements that the programs showed are easily explained away by the fact that the only crimes it could help solve were those committed during daytime and outside. It’s manifestly easier to solve those crimes than those that happen at night and/or indoors. Mayor Scott has been right on this issue from the beginning. Now it’s time for him to end this sorry chapter of police surveillance.
Chris Nutt, Baltimore
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