Since the beginning of his campaign, Mayor Brett Smiley has . Now, Smiley is pushing for across Providence to address vehicles that violate the city鈥檚 noise ordinance.
鈥淓xcessive noise is one of the top complaints we hear from residents,鈥� wrote Josh Estrella, press secretary for the City of Providence, in an email to The Herald. 鈥淲hen recently surveyed, 40 percent of Providence residents said they are some degree of dissatisfied with respect for noise ordinances in their community.鈥�
On March 12, 10 representatives introduced , which would authorize municipalities to install 鈥渁utomated noise violation detection systems.鈥� The bill permits systems 鈥渨ith one or more sensors鈥� that record 鈥渋mages of motor vehicles鈥� while measuring sound levels. According to , violators caught by the system could be fined between $50 and $500.
The primary sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Anthony DeSimone (D-District 5), did not respond to a request for comment.
John Wilner, communications coordinator for the , has surveyed several community members experiencing issues with noise. He shared that the majority of survey respondents have considered leaving the city due to noise. The largest issue highlighted by respondents was vehicle noise.
Wilner explained that some drivers deliberately modify their mufflers or speaker systems, creating more noise. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an effort to be noisy for the sake of being noisy and it鈥檚 mobile,鈥� he said.
Estrella noted that the city has not decided on the exact camera model to use if bill H7368 is approved. 鈥淲e are actively reviewing best practices in other cities but we will not have any specifics on the devices or implementation strategies until after a Request for Information and Request for Proposals,鈥� he wrote.
The , has expressed their to the bill, expressing concern over how the cameras might be used.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 really know how data is being stored, we don鈥檛 know how long it鈥檚 being stored 鈥� we don鈥檛 even know what kind of data (the cameras are) collecting,鈥� said Hannah Stern, a policy associate with the ACLU.
She added that other municipalities have partnered with private technology companies for noise cameras. 鈥淭his is a huge concern, especially when there are no statutory or ordinance limitations on the use of this type of technology,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e basically giving that company free reign to do what they want with that data.鈥�
The city does not yet have a cost estimate for the devices, but Estrella noted that 鈥淧rovidence has an existing noise ordinance that our police officers are tasked with enforcing manually so (noise enforcement) funds are already being expended on staff.鈥�
The ACLU believes that attention and effort could be better used elsewhere, Stern said.
鈥淨uality of life has never been tied to surveilling people more,鈥� she said, citing education, housing and employment as three areas more deeply tied to living standards. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e really concerned about improving community safety and quality of life, I don鈥檛 think these cameras are going to do what we鈥檙e hoping.鈥�
For Wilner, noise is a huge life quality concern. 鈥淣oise is first and foremost a public health issue,鈥� he said.
Dr. Erica Walker, assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health and founder of the Community Noise Lab, explained that excess exposure to noise can negatively impact physical and mental health.
But, Walker does not believe noise cameras are the solution. 鈥淚 am 100% against noise cameras,鈥� she said, citing surveillance and equity concerns.鈥淲hen it comes to surveillance, you always need to realize that you鈥檙e opening up a Pandora鈥檚 Box,鈥� she added. 鈥淥nce you open up the surveillance thing, there is no going back.鈥�
To the ACLU, surveillance of any form is a concern, Stern said, noting that the organization has also opposed the installation of and cameras.
According to Imran Dharamsi 鈥�24, who currently researches regulations on vehicle noise, acoustic cameras are 鈥渆xpensive devices鈥� that 鈥渢ake a lot of headache to install.鈥�
In his view, the cameras could misfire. 鈥淢easuring sound is really complicated,鈥� Dharamsi explained. If the cameras accidentally attributed a loud noise to the wrong vehicle, that driver might fight a ticket they didn鈥檛 deserve, he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 even more difficult because you鈥檙e fighting some opaque machine that just decided to ticket you.鈥�
Walker also expressed concern that the acoustic cameras could disproportionately impact minority communities.
In a conducted in one of her classes, Walker鈥檚 students found that noise levels were higher in lower-income and predominantly non-white neighborhoods. Walker fears that this means the cameras will be installed in 鈥渁ny neighborhood where there鈥檚 lots of Black and brown people.鈥�
鈥淣oise can be a way that we target populations that we don鈥檛 necessarily want in our communities,鈥� she continued. 鈥淪ometimes it can be racial, sometimes it can be ageist, sometimes it can be xenophobic 鈥� the headline is going to be, five years from now, communities of color are overrepresented in cases of noise complaints.鈥�
Smiley has publicly that the cameras would be evenly installed across the city, Estrella wrote. He added that 鈥渢he city will need to undergo a competitive procurement process before implementing the cameras and decisions regarding installation locations would not be finalized until after the legislation passes.鈥�
To Wilner, not installing noise cameras in minority communities would be unfair, since they are facing the consequences of noise pollution. 鈥淭hose people need help, but we are being told that the noise cameras can鈥檛 be put in those places because that鈥檚 unfair,鈥� he said.
Wilner believes that the technology is also less likely to have issues of bias than traditional police enforcement. Officers can be 鈥渟elective on who they鈥檙e going to pull over,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he noise (camera) is based entirely on the sound level.鈥�
Dharamsi stressed that there are a multitude of ways to address noise, noting that altering the built environment, raising public awareness about noise issues or regulating the sale of modified vehicle parts can all help decrease noise levels.
鈥淭he best solutions are those solutions where everybody is better off,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淲e have the brains in this town to actually think of some solutions that are more effective, less expensive and have an ability to make everyone better off.鈥�
Ciara Meyer is a Senior Staff Writer covering the Beyond Brown beat. She is from Saratoga Springs, New York and plans on concentrating in Statistics and English nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
