Firm backing surveillance plane for city let Md. business license lapse
The company trying to bring back a surveillance airplane to help in Baltimore’s crime fight does not have a license to conduct business in Maryland, state records show.
Questions about the standing of the company, Persistent Surveillance Systems, were among a number of concerns raised by City Council members at a public safety committee hearing earlier this week.
“It should have not taken the City Council to look at the implementation of this program,” but it will be the council that will take the heat, said Councilman Brandon Scott, the committee’s chair. He said the council is vetting “a company that does not have the city’s best interest at heart.”
Ross McNutt, founder of Persistent, said he’s committed to reducing crime in Baltimore, and that he welcomed the council hearing to answer questions and provide information about the surveillance program.
The Ohio-based company operated the surveillance program in 2016 with a small Cessna airplane that collected and stored hundreds of hours of footage from scanning city neighborhoods. But the plane was grounded after many expressed outrage that the program was only made public months later through a media report.
McNutt has been trying to bring back the program at a cost of $1.63 million a year — a cost he said would be covered for at least three years by Texas philanthropists Laura and John Arnold.
Records from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation show that McNutt registered his business in the state in February 2016, paying a $100 fee. But its current status is “forfeited,” and records also list the business as “not in good standing.”
McNutt said the company simply didn’t renew the business license in Maryland and the fact that the company let it lapse is not a major concern.
“We’re not currently doing business in Baltimore,” he said. “We don’t need to register in the state of Maryland.”
Several council members at the public safety meeting expressed concerns about the surveillance program, questioning its efficacy and McNutt’s motivations for bringing it to Baltimore.
“Somebody who has the ability to spy on the whole city has to be held on the highest levels of accountability and transparency,” Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer said.
McNutt said the aerial surveillance program has been used all over the country, but it is not currently operating in other cities.
The program has drawn support from residents who believe it can help fight crime in a city that has endured unprecedented violence in recent years. But it’s drawn criticism from others, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has opposed the program because it was not disclosed publicly, and because it involves the surveillance of all citizens.
The City Council has no authority to independently bring back the plane. It would need the backing of Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. A spokesman for Pugh said Wednesday that the mayor is not advocating for the program, but would consider it if there was strong community support.