Use of the camera systems should be subject to audits, the report concludes, and steps should be taken to minimize the chance for misuse or abuse.

In one instance, the report says, two residents of the city’s 21st Ward expressed concern to the ACLU that their First Amendment right to protest had been violated when they were photographed in a rally outside Alderman Antonio French’s office. The photograph was included on French’s Facebook post, according to the report, which adds that it appeared the photographs were taken from one of the city’s surveillance cameras mounted on a streetlight.

Reached by telephone in New York City, French said he had not yet seen the ACLU study, and he did not comment further on the incident.

St. Louis police are reserving half a floor of their new police headquarters for a so-far-unfunded real-time intelligence center, the ACLU said, making the possibility of integrating cameras throughout the city a “fast-approaching reality.”

Rainford confirmed that the city is seeking to make better use of surveillance technology to protect city residents and business owners. He stressed that the cameras in question monitor actions in public places, not private ones.