Batavia set to double surveillance efforts by summer

A few more eyes in the sky will be watching Batavia more closely this summer, as the city doubles its current surveillance measures this spring. Who will be monitoring on the other end, however, is still up in the air.

Batavia is in the process of adding 55 new cameras to public areas downtown and key city-owned facilities, bringing the total to 112 cameras.

The goal of the program is to ensure the safety of citizens during high-traffic times and to deter crime. The cameras will provide live feeds and compile recordings, which will be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests from the public.

There will be 29 cameras added in the downtown area, six will be installed at various public works buildings, seven at each fire station and six at the city’s electrical substations.

City Council members approved a contract with Aurora telecom company Scientel Solutions to install the cameras at their Dec. 16 meeting, despite some aldermen’s concerns about privacy and cost.

The city will pay $342,173.87 the equipment and services, and $24,240 annually for management and support services, which include 24/7 monitoring with dispatch services, repairs, maintenance and software updates. The annual fee will increase by 3% each year after the first year of the contract.

At the same meeting, City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Park District to install cameras on their properties, including the Peg Bond Center, along the Riverwalk and Houston Street.

Council members heard an update from staff on the project’s progress during their March 25 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Assistant City Administrator Max Weiss told council members that while none of the new cameras are live yet, they have been installed at both fire stations and the rest are expected to be installed and operational before the end of spring.

Signage also will be installed in areas monitored by the cameras to notify the public where they are under surveillance.

Alderperson Leah Leman said it was still unclear who would have access to the footage, when and why, and asked Police Chief Eric Blowers for more detail as to how that information will be monitored.

While Blowers did not say what specific types of staff besides police will be able to access the feed or recorded footage, he said anyone who accesses the system will need to explain their reasoning, and the system will automatically log information on who accessed the footage, when, what footage was accessed and why they needed to see it.

Weiss said before the new cameras go live, the city will create a policy that identifies exactly who will have access to which cameras, and reiterated that there will be extensive tracking of all actions made by anyone accessing the system.

Alderman Mark Uher asked Blowers what other reasons there might be for accessing footage, besides during an open investigation.

“Should it not be that the only reason you would access footage is for an active investigation?” Uher asked Blowers.

Blowers said there are several reasons for accessing the live stream, including when there are public safety concerns or to monitor large-scale events, but said they would only duplicate recordings when there is evidentiary value on them.