Naperville council rejects $8.3 million security camera expansion
The Naperville City Council shot down an $8.3 million project to replace about 200 city cameras and add 270 more, seeking more information on how the cameras would be used and regulated, and why the expansion was needed.
The vote on Tuesday came as communities in the Chicago area and across the country grapple with questions about surveillance technology and misuse of some of that equipment by law enforcement.
“We are in an environment of elevated public scrutiny over many of these technologies,” Councilman Josh McBroom, who voted against the project, wrote on Facebook. “Some of that concern is based on misinformation, for sure. But there are also many very rational concerns.”
Some Naperville Park Board members recently expressed concerns over a proposal that would allow Naperville police to access the park district’s security cameras more easily.
At a Will County Board meeting last month, some residents pushed back against allowing certain communities in the county, including Naperville, to continue to using Flock license plate reader cameras on county property. The license plate readers have come under scrutiny in instances where police officers have abused their access to their data.
The project proposed to the Naperville City Council focused on replacing older security cameras the city already deploys while adding new ones as part of a broader system overhaul.
It also would have replaced the city’s 404 access readers and added 98 new ones, which are used to determine who can access a particular building or room.
Many cameras the city uses are reaching their end of life and need to be updated, according to Police Chief Jason Arres.
Naperville has 442 cameras at various locations and across various city departments, including around water and electric utility facilities, the municipal center and Naper Settlement.
The city has three main security systems: one for security cameras, one for traffic cameras and one for building access control. This system has been in place since 2013.
“Without replacement, this equipment will become increasingly unreliable,” Arres said, adding that the project would consolidate the city’s current systems to better protect employees and infrastructure and assist with criminal investigations.
As part of the project, 270 cameras were to be added to various areas in to improve safety, including around Naper Settlement, in parking decks downtown and around the city’s municipal center.
“Cops will always say, ‘Yes, we want more cops,'” Arres said. “But if it was at the expense of the cameras, you would get some real pause because of the benefits we have reaped from this system and what they can do for us from an investigative standpoint.”
The newer cameras would also have a special AI feature, primarily used for police work
“(For example, say) there’s a kidnapping that happens in Naperville, and it’s in a green pickup truck. So the (AI) ability would be to type into this system ‘green pickup truck’ that would search the security cameras … to pick up any green pickup trucks that came across the security cameras,” Arres said.
City policy would govern logistics around how the cameras are used, including who can access the video footage and when that footage is shared with other agencies. All video footage would be deleted after 30 days with the exception of certain legal situations.
Access would be based on a city employee’s department and responsibilities. Camera use would be audited, and any misuse would have consequences, including criminal charges where applicable.
“We are not asking the council or the public to simply trust that misuse will never occur,” Arres said. “A responsible system should limit access, require a legitimate purpose, create an audit trail, and allow us to identify and address improper activity.”
But some council members expressed concerns about the proposed project.
Councilwoman Mary Gibson said the 60 additional cameras proposed for the municipal center seemed like a big request given the measures the city has already taken to make the building more secure.
“We now have a security guard here at night. We’ve limited public access to the building. So I would like to see more information about, you know, some of these locations and justification for where we’re drawing this line,” she said.
Gibson added she would like to see the written policies for how the cameras will be used before signing off on the project.
McBroom voiced similar concerns in his Facebook post.
“I just don’t think the city has made its case yet,” he wrote. “Putting an ask of this size and scale on our agenda for a vote, with really only five days of public vetting, was too much for me and apparently for most of my colleagues.”
Only two council members, Mayor Scott Wehrli and Councilman Ian Holzhauer, voted in favor of the project. Councilman Patrick Kelly was absent.
After the city council meeting, Arres said he believes the questions he was asked were fair, and does not think this is the end of the road for the project.
“I know they all trust me. I know they all believe in me and believe in (the police department),” he said. “I think the fair point for us is to put a strong policy together, bring it back, show them that everything I said (at the meeting) is in writing.”
cstein@chicagotribune.com