(TNS) — A swath of upgraded security cameras have been popping up on streetlamps and other locations across Glens Falls; the company boasts “next-level video surveillance,” but city officials say that’s the farthest thing from their intent.
“Not only are we not using these for any of the AI capabilities, I don’t even think those capabilities came up,” said Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins in a recent interview with The Post-Star.
The cameras are part of an infrastructure upgrade, which Collins said has been a focal point for his administration.
“Normally when people say, ‘infrastructure,’ they’re thinking water and sewer infrastructure and they only think of that,” he said. “I consider technology as being part of infrastructure.”
“I’m the first mayor to buy a laptop in the City of Glens Falls,” he added.
For Collins, upgrading the cities technology is paramount to keeping it a safe and desirable place to live. He cited the area being included in the annual report from Rocket Mortgage as one of the safest cities in the country, but said that doesn’t mean the city is without safety concerns. The upgraded cameras began rolling out in phases last year. According to a FAQ page posted by the city, so far there are 60 “Sky/SiteShield“ units, each equipped with two cameras located around City Hall and various city parks. The “Skye/SiteShield” units require an outside power source, so are connected to light poles from which they can draw power. There are also nine “SolarShield“ units with two cameras each. These units are equipped with solar arrays and can be relocated to other problem areas as officials see the need. Eighteen more “SolarShield” units and three more “Sky/SightShield” units are scheduled to be installed in the coming weeks.
Each “Sky/SiteShield” costs $4,482, while each “SolarShield” costs $6,032. They were paid for out of ARPA funding.
The new cameras are supported by Turing Advanced AI software, which claims the capability to recognize people, objects and activities, differentiating between potential threats and harmless activities and can reportedly identify objects or people even when they are partially obscured or appear differently from one camera angle to another. Collins said those features were never, and are not currently being explored.
“We’re not plugging into it,” Collins said. “This is not going out to some national database, it’s just not. We never even discussed it.”
Instead, Collins said, the cameras are an investigation tool for the Glens Falls Police Department. The GFPD records and retains the footage from the cameras for 30 days so that it can be reviewed if a crime is reported. The upgrades are meant to enhance the PD’s ability to cover more of the city. For Collins, the advanced AI capabilities are a consequence of the time, not a particular selling point.
“I don’t believe that they make cameras that are a dummied-down version. But also, if you’re investing [in safety] you want to do it right,” Collins said. “You don’t want to buy second-grade technology. Let’s not be afraid of AI, let’s understand it. I’m told it can be useful in government; nothing like [facial recognition and predictive activity monitoring], we haven’t had those conversations.”
Some of the cameras will be used to combat speeding throughout the city. The new advanced system will allow officers to set up cameras in areas where traffic violations frequently occur. One such camera is currently being tested on the city’s mobile speed reader.
“It’s just like the camera that we currently have but it also will read your plate, and it will allow us to issue a ticket,” Collins explained, adding that any new policy wouldn’t go into effect without proper public notice and discussion.
“Nothing happens in this government, that I’ve seen in the four years [as mayor] or the eight years before hand, without it being publicly noticed,” he said.
Once the new system has been tested, a report will go before the board of public safety to discuss recommendations for a new ordinance codifying its use. Those recommendations will then go to the Common Council for review. Collins said the camera is triggered when it detects a vehicle moving at a predetermined mileage above the posted speed limit. It alerts the GFPD with details about the car, its license plate, and how fast it was moving. It would then be left to the police department to issue a public safety violation, which would be sent to the owner of the vehicle, not necessarily the individual driving it.
“People, I think, will applaud it,” Collins said. “The entire time I’ve been in office people come in and are screaming, ‘they’re going too fast, they’re going too fast.’ We are addressing it’s as best we can, but this will allow us to address it in a better way.”
Collins said at a New York Conference of Mayors meeting in 2022, he heard from two communities that had implemented similar technology with staggering results.
“They said it was reducing their speeding by like, 94%,” he said. “It was amazing.”
Still, for those leery to know that AI capable cameras are being trained on the public spaces of the city, Collins offers some words of consideration.
“I certainly am an old hippie, I’m with them,” he said. “I would tell them not to be afraid of their local government, to pay attention to their local government.
“Come to our meetings and participate, we’d love to hear your concerns,” he added.
The Glens Falls Board of Public Safety meets at 4 p.m., on the second Wednesday of each month on the second floor of City Hall, located at 42 Ridge Street in Glens Falls.
The Common Council meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Meetings are currently being held at the newly constructed “ED Center,” located at 57 South St. in Glens Falls, while construction takes place at City Hall.
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