Smile for the Camera: MBTA Policies on Surveillance Video

According to Lt. Brooks of the Massachusetts State Police, there are over 1,800 surveillance cameras in Logan Airport. A few weeks ago, I stood in the office of Extraspace Storage on Somerville Ave and watched their surveillance display; a piece of software drew red boxes around the subject’s faces, and followed them around as they moved. Dining at Brownstone in the south end, I noticed a camera on the wall, peering over my friend’s shoulder. Surveillance cameras are now pervasive in both government and industry. In effect, we are becoming Great Britain

Today I want to focus on the surveillance cameras used by the MBTA. A typical MBTA bus has two or three cameras on board; at Downtown crossing, you’ll see cameras lined up on the wall, facing in different directions; as you walk down the stairs to the Porter Square commuter rail, the camera is literally right in your face. And there’s my favorite spot of all: the Green Line platform at Park Street, where you can wave to the camera and see yourself on TV.

It’s clear that the MBTA does an extensive amount of video recording, but where does all of their surveillance footage go? To find out, I submitted a public records request for the MBTA’s policies concerning retention of, and access to, surveillance video footage.

MBTA
Attn: Keeper of Records
10 Park Plaza, Suite 3910
Boston, MA 02116

Re: Massachusetts public records request

Dear MBTA,

This is a request under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M. G. L. Chapter 66, Section 10). I am requesting that I be provided a copy of the following records:

A copy of MBTA policies covering video surveillance footage recorded in MBTA buses, MBTA subway stations, and MBTA commuter rail stations. Ideally, I would like copies of policy documents that address the following questions:

• What are the MBTA’s data retention policies for surveillance video footage?
• Is surveillance video footage stored on state-owned computer systems, or is it stored on systems managed by third parties?
• Who has access to the video footage, and under what circumstances?
• Is video footage shared with other state agencies? If so, which agencies, under what circumstances, and for what purposes?
• Is video footage shared with, or sold to, private companies? If so, who may receive copies of this video footage, under what circumstances, and for what purposes?

If possible, I’d prefer to receive electronic copies of the relevant policy documents. You are welcome to email them to me at steve@….

I recognize that you may charge reasonable costs for copies, as well as for personnel time needed to comply with this request. If you expect costs to exceed $10.00, please provide a detailed fee estimate.

The Public Records Law requires you to provide me with a written response within 10 calendar days. If you cannot comply with my request, you are statutorily required to provide an explanation in writing.

Thanks for your time and attention.

I submitted the request on Jan 18th, 2014, and again on Feb 16th. I received the MBTA’s response on March 27th. The policies fall under the jurisdiction of MassDOT; I’ll summarize them below, but you can read the actual documents here: MBTA Surveillance Video Policies.

• Video footage is stored for 30 days. There are cases where it might be stored for longer (or shorter) periods of time, but 30 days seems to be the general rule of thumb.
• Video is stored in MassDOT’s two data centers, and may also be stored at the capture site. From my reading of the policy documents, it appears that MBTA surveillance video is stored on state-owned systems (as opposed to having the storage contracted to a private company).
• Policy documents state that access to surveillance footage is granted on strict need-to-know basis.
• Only the MBTA police and MassDOT Security and Emergency Management Department have the ability to export video from the surveillance system.
• All requests for video not relating to criminal activity are handled by the MassDOT Security and Emergency Management Department. Requests are logged, and archived for later reference.

There is a thin silver lining: the MBTA has policies covering the storage and retention of surveillance camera footage. They’ve also made a clear effort to implement controls around who can access the material.

The downside is that they’re still watching us. How do you feel about that?

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