New Canaan Police say they’re adding more cameras downtown that will capture car crashes such as the one that stopped traffic at Main and Elm Streets two weeks ago.
Specifically, the department is adding more ‘pan tilt zoom’ cameras to downtown streets such as Elm “to document and capture things like what occurred yesterday [Oct. 20],” according to Police Chief John DiFederico.
“They’re video camera systems that are better equipped at capturing and documenting events rather than license plate cameras,” DiFederico told members of the Board of Selectmen at their Oct. 21 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.
The chief’s comments came during the Board’s discussion before approving a $28,000 annual service contract with an Atlanta-based company for license plate recognition hardware and software. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with Flock Safety.
Police over the past approximately four years have bolstered their monitoring of criminal activity in the downtown and in public parks with the installation of security cameras. One year ago, the town purchased five license plate readers and eight security cameras for NCPD to be installed around town (bringing the total number of cameras to 18).
The selectmen asked the chief whether the new Flock Safety contract covered equipment or software (both, they remain owned by Flock), how long data is retained (30 days unless there’s an active investigation) whether the town is locked on in a contract (yes, it was $28,000 last year too) and where the funds were coming from (fiscal year 2026 operating).
Next stop to … China? In the right hands, this is potentially a big plus for the PD and public safety. In the wrong ones, see the last ten months of norm destruction, and it’s a negative. Is there a privacy policy? Who gets to see what, when and why? This is a private company collecting valuable public data for a fee. What else are they doing with it, and does the town benefit from it? Seems plausible there’s always an active investigation meaning the recorded data never really goes away. Is there a bigger goal to measure beyond traffic safety to see if the money and loss of privacy are worth it? What are the measureables and what has been accomplished so far to justify increased townwide surveillance? For example, will these cameras stop the break-ins that have been going on all over town? Has our rate of recovery gone up for stolen cars, and has the incidence declined? Lots of interesting questions that hopefully are being well considered by our elected officials.
All very good questions and from what we see, not much of a return on investments. Waveny still has car break-ins. Vehicles are still being stolen. And our annual contracts just keep ticking up in cost. This is a $28,000 ‘ANNUAL’ documentation fee for one accident. And I thought Dionna Carlson was budget conscious.
You raise excellent questions. While I commend the NCPD for embracing modern technology in the fight against crime, my enthusiasm is tempered by serious concerns about potential infringements on civil liberties, a right we must all fiercely protect.
A quick search reveals troubling reports about Flock, the company contracted for this initiative. They’ve been cited for sharing footage with agencies like ICE and Homeland Security without warrants, raising red flags about privacy and due process.
If this partnership moves forward, it’s imperative that the town agreement includes strong, enforceable guardrails to prevent misuse and ensure transparency. Safeguarding our rights must remain a top priority.
I SOOOOO wish they’d put in red-light cameras!!!