Logan City Council launches AI tracking for CCTV feed monitored by policeBy Tobi LoftusTopic:Local GovernmentWed 15 JanWednesday 15 JanuaryWed 15 Jan 2025 at 7:40pmLogan City Council's use of AI has raised privacy concerns.(ABC News: Tobias Loftus)In shortLogan City Council has about 1,400 cameras that feed into the main control room.The council says the AI software doesn't recognise faces but can track people and vehicles.The Civil Liberties Council has raised concerns over its use.A council south of Brisbane has begun using artificial intelligence software linked to CCTV to track crime, in a move dubbed "mass surveillance" by a privacy advocate.Logan City Council has about 1,400 cameras across its suburbs, with the images fed into a main control room manned by council staff and police.Mayor Jon Raven said the new AI software allows staff and police to search for terms like car numberplates or "people wearing backpacks" and immediately see results."No other council in Queensland has police in their camera monitoring room 24 hours a day, seven days a week,"he said."That means if you need police support in Logan, they can respond faster here than anywhere else."Logan City Council's CCTV room is manned by council workers and police.(Supplied: Logan City Council)He said the new software worked by searching for certain descriptions and then condensing all relevant footage from a 24-hour period into a two-to-five minute clip."If there was a white Holden in a certain area at a certain time, they can actually track its movements throughout the city," he said.While the AI doesn't identify faces, Mr Raven said it could identify movement and other personal descriptions like types of clothing.Logan Mayor Jon Raven, with Acting Inspector Neil Stacey, says the software will allow police to respond faster.(Supplied: Logan City Council)Logan Acting Inspector Neil Stacey said the system had the potential to save police hours they would have spent scrubbing through footage."Previously you'd need to manually search and review the footage yourself, and the AI now allows that to be all condensed," he said."Obviously AI is still very much an emerging technology and it's something that we need to be treating carefully."There's obviously checks that need to be made. You'd be checking and doing checks through our police system to verify the information provided."Privacy concerns raisedThe council is also using the system to identify dumped cars, illegal dumping, graffiti and abandoned shopping trolleys."Often we rely on residents to report for us," Mr Raven said."But using the camera network now it can spot a trolley, it can report it to the appropriate people, and we can either go and collect it or get the shopping centres to do it for us."There are 1,400 camera's in the Logan City Council area.(ABC News: Tobias Loftus)Queensland Council of Civil Liberties president Michael Cope said there were still questions about how the data was being collected, what it was being used for, and how long it would be kept."In our view, mass surveillance of people conducting their ordinary lawful business is not justified by finding people dropping litter," he said."There's no evidence that CCTV actually reduces crime. The evidence is that it just moves the criminals down the street somewhere."Even if you feel that this sort of mass surveillance system is justified, the critical question is what data is being collected and what is it being used for."Michael Cope says people should not be subject to this sort of technology.(ABC News: Tobi Loftus)A council spokesperson said they couldn't comment on how long the footage is kept, except that "information is kept within industry standards".They also said they couldn't reveal the name of the software used, except that it was developed internationally and cleared by the council's cybersecurity and IT teams."All of this data, whether you think it's justified or not, should be deleted after say 72 hours unless obviously it actually shows a crime," Mr Cope said."The fact they can't say how long they're keeping the data for is a significant concern for us, because there should be clear rules about this."Covert cameras in useThe council also has 24 new covert cameras it uses when there is "particular concern about the security of an area" or "where a suspected offence may be occurring"."People who are going about their lawful ordinary business are entitled to know whether or not they're the subject of surveillance," Mr Cope said."If the council wishes to engage in covert surveillance, the law should require them to get a warrant from a magistrate, just as the police have to get warrants."Mr Raven said the data was stored locally and did not leave Logan."It's held by Logan City Council for our use and the use of police, no one else can access it," he said."The AI that we're using is training off our data, for our purposes. We don't want to risk sharing that information with others, because we could jeopardise people's privacy."On average, police have used the CCTV network about 1,000 times a month to help in inquiries, the council said.