“Impacts of Surveillance Police Strategies on Latine Urban Spaces”

Author: Jeremy Rivera

Department: UIC Institute for Policy & Civic Engagement

Advisor: Dr. Joseph K. Hoereth, IPCE / Alexander Diaz, Graduate Assistant, UIC-IPCE

Abstract:The expansive police surveillance technologies in urban areas have raised issues that perpetually grow surrounding public safety and civil liberties in marginalized communities. One of Chicago’s historically Latine neighborhoods, Little Village has seen an intensification of surveillance over the past decade with the implementation of Police Observation Devices (PODs), ShotSpotter systems, facial recognition tools, and Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs). The purpose of this study is to examine how these surveillance policies have contributed to crime reduction while simultaneously increasing police complaints and undermining community trust. This literature review draws on sources from 1990 to 2021 and evaluates crime and complaint trends from 2013 to 2023 to assess the effectiveness and consequences of surveillance-based policing. The findings in the report highlight that although there was a 12% drop in crime in Little Village, the rise in complaints of excessive force and false arrests—often linked to technologies like ShotSpotter—reflects deeper issues in law enforcement practices. Contributing factors such as immigration status, youth profiling, and historic over-policing have compounded community mistrust, particularly among Latines in mixed-status households. The implications suggest that while technologies have been helpful in crime prevention, an increased dependency on such strategies without community input can
reinforce harmful systemic damages. These results call for reform that center with more community entities that include transparency, oversight boards and reduction in heavy surveillance devices in policing.

Keywords: CCTV/Police Observation Devices (POD), ShotSpotter, Body Camera, Investigatory Stop, Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSC), Facial Recognition Collection

View Jeremy's Presentation Poster