UMass Police Say Station Security Cameras Violate Their Privacy
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — A judge ordered the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to cease all unnecessary recordings in its campus police station after officers complained that their privacy rights were being violated.
The 32 security cameras in the station, which opened in April, can record private conversations, the Associated Press reports. A lawyer for the university said no unwarranted recording has occurred.
The system software used to operate the cameras can be used to activate the equipment’s audio capabilities, and record conversations without the knowledge of those being recorded, The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports.
Attorney Thomas A. Kenefick, who is representing the UMass police, is looking to have the audio capabilities disabled or the cameras replaced entirely.
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