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The City of Sydney is considering using artificial intelligence (AI) software to analyse footage from its public CCTV cameras and alert security staff to potential safety risks.
The proposed technology could flag activity such as objects being left behind or removed, vehicles travelling in the wrong direction, large crowds gathering and people running.
Changes to the City’s Street Safety Camera Program Code of Practice would allow it to purchase software capable of scanning footage from its more than 100 public safety cameras and flagging activity for security staff to review.
A City of Sydney spokesperson said the proposed software “is intended to provide a helpful alert function” to security staff monitoring footage through its closed CCTV network.
“A member of that team would still be required to view and verify what is happening before taking action,” the spokesperson said.
The specific AI software and its capabilities have not yet been determined.
Besides the activity the proposed software could detect, the draft Code of Practice also discusses how analytics could be used to search recorded footage using descriptions of people or vehicles such as clothing, hair colour, age category, bags and vehicle characteristics.
What about privacy?
The City said the technology would not use biometric identification systems, including facial recognition.
“The protection of the rights, freedoms and privacy of our residents, workers and visitors will remain the top priority in any tender for our CCTV program,” the spokesperson said.
The City said footage would be stored securely on a City controlled server, with the software operating on a separate local server, and that footage would not be provided to enforcement agencies without human review.
Public consultation before any changes
Councillors unanimously endorsed the draft Code for public exhibition at the 26 October Council meeting.
The City said the draft proposals are about to be placed on public exhibition, but the consultation dates have not yet been confirmed.
“No changes will be made until the consultation is complete and Council has resolved to adopt a new code,” the spokesperson said.
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