The St. Louis Board of Aldermen鈥檚 Public Safety Committee on Thursday passed eight police surveillance technology resolutions and heard presentations from the city鈥檚 public safety and medical leaders about efforts to improve conditions at the City Justice Center.
Committee Chair Bret Narayan of the 4th Ward introduced the resolutions. The committee passed all eight in response to , which went into effect last May. It requires that surveillance technology have a public hearing and be approved by the Board of Aldermen before it can continue to be used.
The surveillance mechanisms approved Thursday include mugshot comparison software, shot spotter alerts, which detect the sound of gunfire and alert police to the location, hundreds of police surveillance cameras deployed across the city and cellphone trackers.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department made its public presentation before the board last month.
There was confusion among the members about whether public comment would be allowed at the meeting, but ultimately the committee decided there would be no public comment to ensure there was enough time for the presentations.
7th Ward Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier disagreed with that decision, as she and others had told constituents they鈥檇 be allowed to voice their thoughts, particularly after protesters disrupted a board meeting in November calling for transparency and change after it was revealed that at least 18 people had died at the city jail since 2020.
In addition, Sonnier and 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge opposed the majority of the resolutions due to a failure to include all updated police surveillance use documents on the city鈥檚 website at least a week in advance of Thursday鈥檚 committee vote.
鈥淚 want to be clear about some of my frustrations,鈥� Sonnier said. 鈥淚 really do have immigrant population that lives in the 7th Ward. I really do have people that want to have abortions that are very scared of how this will turn out. I really do have LGBTQ members, their concerns are very valid.
鈥淎nd of course, I鈥檝e said to them from the beginning that there will be some surveillance into the city of St. Louis. But it鈥檚 hard for me as their alderwoman to do my job and tell those organizations 鈥業鈥檓 going to keep you updated and in the loop,鈥� and then things get posted to the (city) website at 9 a.m.鈥�
Narayan said he felt that pointing people to the police website for the had been sufficient as the resolutions have been in public view for a while. Residents will have more opportunity to provide public comment on the jail discussion later, he said.
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The Public Safety Committee also heard from acting Commissioner of Corrections Tammy Ross, who said her current priorities include staffing and fostering partnerships. She鈥檚 been at the jail for nearly 23 years and previously served as a deputy commissioner.
鈥淚 am committed to doing what I can for our population,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚 do walk the facility, I do talk to staff, and I do talk to the detainees. I think these things will help with what鈥檚 going on at the facility.鈥� Former jail Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abudullah was fired on Dec. 21 shortly after returning from a leave of absence.
Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, the city's health director, provided a detailed presentation on emergency efforts her department made at the end of 2023 after being requested to provide oversight at the jail. Hlatshwayo Davis said it is currently in contract negotiations with the jail鈥檚 medical vendor, Physician Correctional USA, about renewing for another year.
Doug Burris 鈥� the contractor hired in early December by Mayor Tishaura Jones鈥� office to make recommendations for improving conditions at the City Justice Center 鈥� also gave a brief presentation Thursday, sharing that his report will be done in about two weeks. Burris is the former acting director of St. Louis County鈥檚 jail and is credited for bringing improvements and stability to the facility after a series of its detainees died in 2019.
The report will contain over 50 recommendations for changes to be made at the city jail, many of which have to do with programming, Burris said.
鈥淭here are things that can be done quickly to lower the recidivism rate, and I think just treating people with more humanity,鈥� Burris said.
