Introducing, Left of Lansdowne

In this issue: Surveillance, alternative policing, and more.

Author

Left of Lansdowne
April 03, 2024

Dear neighbors,

Perhaps you’re asking yourself “who and what is Left of Lansdowne?” We’re wondering the same thing.

So, let’s start with a little history:

In October 2023, Lansdowne Borough Council put forth Resolution 2023-33, which, despite offering a boiler-plate rejection of Islamophobia, completely failed to acknowledge the long, brutal history of Israel’s systematic oppression of Palestinians. At the time of that proposed resolution, the Palestinian death toll had already exceeded Israel’s by 13 to 1. Since then, the number of Palestinians killed by Israel has more than doubled, exceeding 30,000. That number will continue to rise as victims of all ages succumb to injury, man-made famine, and other Israeli war crimes.

When the resolution was announced, a handful of social justice-oriented Lansdowne residents of varying religious backgrounds—Jews, Christians, atheists, and so on—came together to investigate how such an ahistorical document had managed to pass under the community’s radar. We quickly learned that the majority of council members had an insufficient understanding of the conflict’s history, and many had felt pressured to support the resolution. That pressure stemmed in part from the testimony of passionate zionists from neighboring towns, who had been discretely invited to speak on Israel’s behalf, propaganda materials and narratives in tow.

Whoever invited those guest speakers sorely underestimated our community’s ability to fight back against political repression. Our nascent group organized to write a press release, encourage others to share their views, and hold an interfaith candlelight vigil. Despite slanderous accusations and veiled threats from the opposition—most of whom don’t even live in Lansdowne—we ultimately succeeded in overturning the resolution. The way we see it, our tiny, land-locked borough’s council has no reason to wade into international politics. We’re all for rejecting Antisemitism and Islamophobia—but nationalism and settler-colonialism can take a fucking hike, to put it nicely.

After “resolution-gate” subsided, our collective had big questions to answer. What should we do with these newly formed ties between neighbors? What do we agree on besides Palestine’s right to exist? In subsequent meetings, we established a loose, non-hierarchical structure with rotating facilitators and shared agreements. It’s still a work in progress, but here’s how we’re defining our purpose at the moment:

Left of Lansdowne is a grassroots coalition of neighbors working at the intersection of civic engagement and mutual aid. Our goal is to fight systemic oppression through volunteer work, political advocacy, and community education. We aim to share resources amongst our community where governmental and private entities have failed. 

- LOL Guiding Agreements

In other words, we’re a hodgepodge of leftists: socialists, anarchists, communists, and a handful of progressive Democrats, among others. We believe mutual aid has the potential to make long-lasting positive changes in our community. We reject fascism in all its forms, including prisons and policing systems. At the end of the day, we’re your neighbors—people of diverse races, genders, sexualities, abilities, class backgrounds, ages, and countries of origin. We care about you, and we want everyone to survive and thrive, despite our capitalist hell-scape. It’s as simple as that.

So far, we’ve successfully pushed the borough to improve their hybrid meeting infrastructure to maintain accessibility, and we continue to pressure council to be more transparent about their processes and more judicious with their spending. We’ve made a point of attending as many borough council meetings as possible, taking notes to share with you all on a regular basis. We’re also gathering harm reduction supplies to share with the community and intend to host public events to raise awareness on timely political and cultural issues.

This newsletter will be a roundup of what we’ve learned at this month’s council meetings, various volunteer opportunities, links to local resources, and recommended reading on leftist issues and perspectives. Will it be unbiased? No, but nothing is. You’re invited to read through and come to your own conclusions, even if they differ from ours. We think you’ll find that when all is said and done, we share the same underlying values. Or at least, pretty similar ones.

In solidarity,

Left of Lansdowne

P.S. Need harm reduction supplies like Narcan or test strips for fentanyl/tranq? Text or call us at ‪(215) 360-3096‬

GET INVOLVED

HOT TOPICS

This month saw two notable proposals: installation of automatic license plate readers at two major intersections in town, and the creation of a community support unit pilot program. Let’s break down the good and bad aspects of each.

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs)

“The department is seeking funds to purchase three [note: the request was changed to two] community pole cameras which will be deployed throughout the borough. These cameras aim to reduce crime as a deterrent factor and also to increase clearance rates as an investigation tool.”

The above text comes from an LPD grant application, acquired via the Right-To-Know law. Read the PLATELOGIQ (the company Lansdowne plans to contract) brochure here.

Pros

According to the Police, it will help them find stolen vehicles and missing children and seniors, provide access to a regional database of flagged plates, help with traffic enforcement, deter dangerous driving, and create revenue via PennDOT violations. However, Lansdowne PD has not been able to furnish concrete statistical evidence to prove these changes will measurably reduce crime.

Cons

There are many reasons to be concerned, including…

  • Privacy & data use: The ALPRs and accompanying software are provided and maintained by PLATELOGIQ, a private company. While they promise to only retain images of your vehicle for 1 year, there is no way to hold them to that promise, no way to ensure the efficacy of their security protocol, and no way to ensure that PLATELOGIQ will be run the same way indefinitely. This data will also be shared across state lines—Lansdowne PD has publicly acknowledged that abortion-seekers from states where the procedure is illegal would have to be turned in if caught passing through town on the cameras. Private companies have no real incentive to prioritize individuals’ right to privacy.

  • Racial targeting & punishing poverty: While ALPRs may increase revenue, it will unduly burden those living at or below the poverty line, as these individuals are most likely to have expired registrations. Furthermore, many states are already considering bills that decriminalize expired registration, as these minor offenses disproportionately affect people of color and people living in poverty. Lastly, ALPRs have been proven to be frequently used as pretext for racial profiling, which can lead to deadly confrontations with law enforcement.

  • Constitutionality: The ACLU and others have argued pole cameras violate the 4th amendment (protection from unreasonable search and seizure). Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court argued that ALPR technology, when deployed extensively, constitutes a search. Lansdowne PD says they want to be part of a larger surveillance network throughout Delaware County, as it’s “the future of policing.” In our assessment, the future of policing is constant, mass surveillance, and we want no part in that. While Lansdowne PD argues that mass surveillance is inevitable, we certainly don’t have to enable it. 

  • Cost: Ethical and legal issues aside, the ALPR cameras come at a high cost. While installation and the first year of cloud storage is subsidized by a PLATELOGIQ grant, the program will require indefinite spending on labor, maintenance, and cloud storage, the cost of which could fluctuate at any time. Neither PLATELOGIQ nor Lansdowne PD have been transparent about those costs, or how they’ll be paid for in the future—perhaps another budget increase? We spent more than 40% of Lansdowne’s annual budget on policing in 2023. How much more are we expected to invest?

How to weigh in:

Suggested reading:

Community Support Unit (CSU)

“In response to evolving community needs and the complexities of modern policing, Health and Public Safety proposes the establishment of a Community Support Unit (CSU) as an extension of the police department. This initiative draws inspiration from successful models that integrate social work into policing, addressing not only law enforcement but also the broader spectrum of social services. This approach acknowledges that effective prevention, intervention, and stabilization often require more than traditional police action and extend beyond the capabilities of any single agency.” Read the full proposal here.

Pros

This is a good gesture toward reducing the criminalization of mental illness and substance use disorder. We approve of a collaborative and coalition-based approach, which allows equipped professionals to respond with non-violent interventions. CSU structures reduce our dependence on armed police for non-life-threatening situations. Similar models, including co-responder programs, have demonstrably helped people stay out of the criminal legal system, and have ensured access to health services that police officers can’t provide. CSU programs also ensure that patrol officers have more time to respond to 911 calls that pose a serious risk to the public. The long-term cost savings of a well-executed CSU program are exponential; research has estimated a saving of $350,000 per year, per co-responder. 

Cons

We encourage the borough to embrace innovative public safety models, rather than simply replicating those of neighboring towns. The current $93,000 proposal is barely a reform, and certainly not a transformation of our policing system, as it fails to decenter armed officers from public safety. A co-responder and/or CSU program only works when residents, community organizations, behavioral health professionals, and others are involved in the creation and implementation. Stakeholders need to ensure these programs don’t perpetuate inequities.

There is little clarity over who the social worker will report to, how their job will be shaped by their supervisor, or how much agency the social worker will have to shape PD procedure and policy. With just one part-time social worker to serve the entire borough, it will be hard to measure their impact.

The proposal also requires the hiring of yet another police officer. This will further increase the police department’s staff numbers and annual budget. We don’t understand the need for additional officers, given the staggering cost of pensions, training, retiree health care, and other personnel expenses. Why not fully invest in a less militarized Lansdowne? Who benefits from this watered-down approach?

How to weigh in:

Suggested reading:

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

Here are some other interested tidbits gleaned from last month’s council meetings:

  • Council is excited about a collaboration with American Legion Post 65 about a veterans banner project. Legion will pay for the banners

  • VP Pointer proposed an ad hoc Recreation committee (separate from Parks & Rec), and said she’d bring it to council

  • There’s talk of making Scottsdale a two-way street again, will need to consult an engineer to assess

  • There will be 2 new borough-use message boards installed in the parks to improve communication

  • The design for Veteran’s Parkway (a.k.a. Lansdowne Landing) is in and the borough will be taking bids soon. There’s some controversy over the naming

  • There’s a new spice shop opening at 26 N. Lansdowne
Ave

  • A firm has been engaged to recruit a new borough manager. The borough manager will likely assume secretarial duties as well

  • There will be an earth day celebration at Hoffman Park on 4/20

Upcoming borough meetings: