Afton reviews security cameras

AFTON - A proposal communicated by Afton Police Chief Jake McGuire to Afton City Council includes installations of new cameras in areas of the city for surveillance.

Locations for the cameras aren’t decided yet, and no action was taken by Afton during Tuesday’s regular council meeting.

The bid, made by Astra Security, would offer installation of the cameras to be used by the cities to settle incidents and assist in criminal investigations. Cameras just need to be connected to a wireless connection through an access point disc, and each disc can cover a five-mile area, which would be more than enough to cover the city’s 1.5-mile area.

One location for two cameras was proposed to be placed in the center of the Afton park square, offering a 360-degree coverage of the surrounding area and roads.

McGuire explained a feature of the new cameras, an artificial intelligence-assisted search tool which could help narrow down the locations of individuals who are spotted by the cameras. Different keywords can be searched through the footage to spot individuals.

“Let’s say someone picks up somebody’s bag, and someone said ‘someone in a red shirt did this,’” McGuire said. “I type in ‘red shirt,’ and it eliminates everyone except those wearing a red shirt. It’s pretty high-tech stuff.”

According to Astra Security’s website, the search tools for footage captured can narrow down individuals to their gender, age, the color of their clothes and whether or not certain individuals are wearing a hat or backpack. The AI tool can also scan vehicles and can scan for vehicles with a matching license plate.

The behavior of individuals can also be monitored with automatic triggers which can be customized. Certain actions, such as theft detection, individuals entering a restricted area or loitering can be assigned to each trigger.

Artificial analysis is claimed to be done within the camera’s computer chips, not relying on outside information servers for any processing.

Legal limitations are also in place, and have been for any city camera system, according to McGuire. He said the cameras can not be used to see inside the homes of individuals, and are used to monitor public areas and roads.

AI-assisted cameras aren’t new to Afton. East Union School District uses the ZeroEyes camera system to monitor individuals in the school. If an individual was spotted with an unauthorized weapon, the system automatically alerts school administrators. With administrator approval, a rapid response to law enforcement can be notified.

The school implemented the security system last year and recently renewed their contract until 2028. Unlike the proposed new city cameras, the ZeroEyes cameras actively scans for potential weapons and automatically alerts school administrators if one is spotted. The city cameras would only be used for monitoring with manual search options.

Updates to the city’s cameras were also considered, with Mayor Michelle Burger saying the cameras hadn’t been updated in 15 years. McGuire, in conversations with representatives from Astra, said they were impressed with the current quality of Afton’s cameras. However, software in the available cameras are growing older, and McGuire said Astra’s new cameras can be especially helpful with vandalism since they cover a wider range.

Afton council considered how a program could be funded, including through the application of grants. The budgeting for the next fiscal year is in process, with some council members suggesting funds could be allocated for the project for “reducing crime.” Funding for the new cameras could also be lowered directly from Astra Security, with McGuire saying the company has a grant writer on staff.

Additional areas for the cameras was considered by the council. These include roads outside East Union, Greenlawn Cemetery and the Afton Lake.

Council member Steve Kinyon attended Tuesday’s meeting via telephone.