Amherst (MA) General Bylaws § 3.59 — SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY OVERSIGHT
3.59 - SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY OVERSIGHT
(Voted 11-15-2021 by the Town Council)
A. Purpose
The purpose of this Bylaw is to provide for the regulation of Surveillance Technology
acquisition or use by the City known as the Town of Amherst or the use of the Surveillance
Data it provides, to safeguard the right of individuals to privacy balanced with the need to
promote and provide safety and security.
B. Definitions
(1) “Disparate Impact” means an adverse effect that is disproportionately experienced by
individual(s) having any traits, characteristics, or status as to which discrimination is
prohibited under the Constitution or any law of the United States, the constitution or any law
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or the Amherst Home Rule Charter or any law of
the Town of Amherst than by similarly situated individual(s) not having such traits,
characteristics, or status.
(2) "Exigent Circumstances" means the Police Chief's or the Police Chief's designee's good
faith belief that an emergency involving danger of death or physical injury requires use of the
Surveillance Technology or the Surveillance Data it provides. The use of Surveillance
Technology in Exigent Circumstances shall not infringe upon an individual's right to
peacefully protest and exercise other lawful and protected Constitutional Rights.