In a surprise, the Palm Coast City Council approved a five-year, $304,000 plan potentially to integrate all city surveillance cameras–on streets, in parks, on and inside buildings, at utility and other facilities–with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Real Time Crime Center.
The proposal was sprung on the council with unusual lack of transparency. It was not discussed by the City Council at a previous meeting or workshop. The item was listed on the council agenda’s “consent” portion on Tuesday–that portion of the agenda where normally routine items are taken up as a group and approved with one vote, unless a council member opts to single one out for discussion.
Only City Council member Theresa Pontieri appeared to have noticed its significance and pulled it for discussion–not because of the system’s purpose or implications, but because of its cost to the city.
“This one bothers me,” Pontieri said. “Obviously I’m all about public safety, but for me, the sheriff’s office should be paying for this, not the city of Palm Coast.” What was presented to the council, Sheriff Rick Staly said Thursday–and explained to Pontieri after the meeting–was not the complete story, however.
The Real Time Crime Center is itself networked into an array of resources, including the city’s traffic cameras, as well as the select cameras of other agencies and, to some extent, those of private individuals and businesses who voluntarily participate in a surveillance registry.
The integration with the city will significantly expand those capabilities and give the Sheriff’s Office immediate access to the camera streams, though the city will retain control of the network, the software, and the implementation of the system, including which streams are fed to the Sheriff’s Office and which are not.
Integration will enable the RTCC to fuse and follow the movements of individuals or vehicles across the city–wherever cameras are part of the system–and link the data to other capabilities of the RTCC system, such as license plate readers (LPRs) and artificial intelligence software. AI capabilities make “locating potential suspects or missing persons by clothing, color and type, along with vehicles involved in crashes or incidents based on color, model, etc., more efficient,” a sheriff’s presentation states. The data would not be streamed only through the Real Time Crime Center, but would also be accessible to deputies.
Doug Akins, the city’s director of information technology, said the contract with Axon is structured in such a way as to preserve the city’s control over all aspects of its hardware and software.
“It started with a request from the sheriff’s office, and there were several ways we could integrate with them,” Doug Akins, the city’s director of information technology, told the council. “From our perspective, the safest way was to implement the platform ourselves and then share the cameras with the sheriff’s office through the platform, as opposed to having another agency’s equipment on our network that we didn’t have any control over updates or taking it off network. If there was a breach, they could allow third parties through that access.” For the city. It’s a matter of security. “We would be using the cameras ourselves for the video piece of it, and then sharing it with the sheriff’s office.”
The system, called Fusus, is a product of the Axon company, which provides the Sheriff’s Office and innumerable law enforcement agencies their body cameras, Tasers, drones, license plate readers and other hardware and software. The Sheriff’s Office in March hosted an Axon expo on the grounds of the Operations Center in Bunnell.
“When he said ‘the sheriff’s office requested,’ that is not accurate,” Staly said. “We requested the ability to immediately view their cameras, and we gave them a way to do it without costing the city anything. They chose to go out and get bids from Fusus themselves.” The Sheriff’s Office also offered to help the city negotiate with Axon, since it had a long relationship with the company. “We didn’t ask them to buy the system they bought. We asked them for access to their camera. We gave them a way to do it for free.”
Staly said several agencies and individuals cooperate with the agency’s Real Time Crime Center by enabling their surveillance systems–whatever the make, whatever the specifications–to “talk” to the RTCC through so-called “cores” that agencies and individuals can buy, as some do (Staly said they’re inexpensive) or through cores provided by the Sheriff’s Office. The agency was prepared to give Palm Coast free cores to enable its existing system to communicate with the RTCC. The city chose not to do that–for entirely valid reasons the sheriff recognizes.
The city is concerned about any breach in its digital wall in an age of phishing, ransomware and data theft. “Implementing the FUSUS platform directly—rather than through a third party—empowers the City to retain full control over its camera hardware, configurations, and cybersecurity posture,” Akins’s memo to council members about the proposal states. “This control is critical in maintaining a secure and resilient infrastructure, particularly as digital threats continue to evolve. The City can manage device access, conduct timely software updates, and remove any devices from the network in response to threats or changes in operational needs. Additionally, by controlling the platform settings, the City ensures that camera configurations are not inadvertently overridden or altered by outside entities.”
But that means the city bears the costs.
Council members on Tuesday discussed possibly assigning the costs to the sheriff’s contract over the next five years. But Staly won’t go for that.
“Absolutely I’m not going to pay it,” he said. “I have already provided $2 million within the city of Palm Coast for all our LPRs, because that’s how I reduce crime and I catch criminals. That’s not in their contract. They’re not paying any of that, and that has to be upgraded every three or four years.” Staly said he’d asked the city to add license plate readers at the entrance to city parks. The city has declined. He hasn’t installed them there, but has done so elsewhere. “They haven’t paid a dime for that in their contract.” Staly said his efforts to integrate city and sheriff surveillance systems go back to his days as undersheriff.
“We really appreciate the partnership. I want to make that very clear. This was a long time coming,” Staly said. “They’ll have to explain why they did it their way instead of the free way from us. I understand why they chose that way because every network administrator is concerned about getting hacked or getting a virus, so every time you allow somebody else into your system it’s potentially a risk. So I understand it, and they have probably gone above and beyond the security needs, because the cores are already CJIS-compliant, which means it’s going to be very difficult for somebody to hack into.” CJIS, or Criminal Justice Information Services, is the FBI’s massive database supporting law enforcement, national security, the intelligence community and the public.
The first-year implementation cost for Palm Coast is $31,475, rising to $99,000 in the second year, then $58,000 a year for three successive years. The council approved all items on the consent agenda, including the contract with Axon, but on a 4-1 vote, with Pontieri opposed, primarily, she said in an interview, because there were unanswered questions at the time, and she still has some. But the council took up the item toward the end of another grueling evening meeting.
“I am glad that they purchased the system. I’m not paying for it,” Staly said.
Joe D says
Wow….sounds like a VERY elaborate (and EXPENSIVE ) system. In fact it sounds like the system my prior East Coast major Metropolitan City uses (as an aside, I do have to say that it reduced homicides, and car thefts by about 30% over the last 3 years). HOWEVER, do we need ALL of this…right now. Can they start with a system and increase it GRADUALLY over time?
At a time when there is no money for beach renourishment, and some Commissioners want a budget DEEP DIVE to see where money could be cut/ readjusted …to pass this (almost) under the RADAR, with no workshops, public hearings or question periods, seems unwarranted!
It seems like it SHOULD have been TABLED for additional discussion at a future meeting, but elected officials simply pushed it through 4/1, with only minimal discussion.
According to the article, it was a LONG overall meeting, and this was squeezed in with ROUTINE items (?) that usually just need a quick group vote at the end (maybe that was the strategy)…push it through QUICKLY and hope no one really NOTICES, because everyone is tired and just wants to go home.
This isn’t the best way to run a government (local or otherwise), but it has been an effective tool in some areas to get officials to agree to PASS legislation that they REALLY haven’t read the fine print (In my opinion).
I’m kind of disappointed that we are now COMMITTED to funding this IN FULL, NOW, because of the RUSHED vote. I hope this isn’t the NEW ORDER OF THINGS, in local government. Could get EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE at a time when people are having a difficult time affording their basic electric and water bills?!?
Skibum says
I’m glad to hear that law enforcement in our county now has access to the city’s surveillance cameras in public spaces within the city limits. This will allow our deputies additional resources to help them identify those involved in criminal activity and make arrests. This is another reminder of how important technology is to public safety, especially as evidence to support a conviction when the case goes to a judge or jury. We all should support and appreciate this cooperation between the city and the sheriff’s office.
Jf says
Just fyi this isn’t Orlando,Jacksonville or Miami. Look at the sheriffs reports and you will see that a good percentage of arrests are for stupid things like expired plates,expired license. Why do you thing that there s always somewhere within the vicinity of a license plate reader? So much for old school policing. I guess y’all give the sheriff whatever he asks for. If the traffic cams and license plate reader do what they do then why have a traffic unit? It’s a waste of money and another way for the sheriff to ask for more resources. What y’all don’t understand is that the call volume the sheriffs officer e tells you isn’t entirely correct. If a deputy says he in on foot that generates a call. If they say they did 20 drive by security without even exiting their vehicles. So much bogus crap that the sheriff has you all fooled!
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Private eyes
They’re watching you
They see your every move
Private eyes
They’re watching you
Private eyes
They’re watching you, watchin’ you, watchin’ you, watching you
Florida Girl says
They man the boarders of our society… This does not hurt my feelings one single bit. We are growing in every direction, daily. They have to keep up with not only that new growth but those visiting too. They need every tool AND every recourse law enforcement can get so law enforcement can evolve and keep up too.
Ray says
Staly at it again. He is so arrogant, and a threatening know it all cop, it is pathetic. At Christmas he will have cops in Santa Clause cloths on the streets looking for you to do something wrong, summertime he has cops dressed as construction workers, just hopping they can find you doing anything they can to give you a ticket or take you to jail!
Waste not says
Wait a minute
Is this correct ?
Residents and businesses volunteer for this at no charge but our water short city has a hundreds of thousands of dollars for this
Pig Farmer says
Wow, only 41 years late. Thank you sheriff Orwell.
Notthatsherry says
Too little too late? We need a mulligan here. Pontieri was the only one to question this? Why did the rest of the members just accept this? How can the city spend this money when they didn’t need to. This was voted on without full disclosure.
Jack says
How is this even a discussion? What have we become as a nation? The freedoms an liberties our grandfathers and generations before us gave their lives and shed blood for are stolen at home by controlling men who use technology to take those same freedoms away from us. They gaslight everyone over time and make us think we need to surveil every nook and cranny of public space to protect ourselves from bad guys while ironically hiding behind a stolen white stripe on our flag (replaced with blue) and calling themselves “constitutional” sheriffs. How cute. How clever. We pay our taxes for police to enforce the laws, and this is what we get? And to all you half-wit jokers out there plastering mutilated flags all over yourselves and your leaned out trucks, wake the F up and understand what our flag represents. Freedom! Stop voting with your balls and vote with whatever brain cells you have left up there. Oh and hey Skibum, please do us all a favor and buy a one way ticket to North Korea. It sounds like you may feel quite at home there.
jane doh says
Holy Minority Report, Batman! Science Fiction becomes fact. Nice (not) how approved it without public discussion. The new surveillance state, Palm Coast. Nice (not) how they chose this city as a test city.
David Meeks says
Well now…. Go look it up. The system is called Axon Fusus…..Volusia is using it & FCSO is now with the schools & Flagler Beach.
Wanda says
Wow and big brother is fascist too! This prob won’t end well. Sounds like murikkka needs some liberation from the tyranny of the orange stain. Hopefully some hackers make these cameras available for public use as well so we can watch the gestapo in action. This sucks bad for any non white skinned person . Where are those Latinos for rump? Already at the concentration camps? You’re in a gang.No im not. prove it. Oh yeah cant no hearing or trials anymore for “some”people. Haha people buckled awfully fast when it came to defending “freedum”!
Laurel says
Jack: You had me until you attacked Skibum. I feel like I know him over the last couple of years, and I know he only means well and wants the best for us. That is from his point of view, and the North Korea thing was out of line.
Where I disagree with my friend is just like locks keep out the good guys, over surveillance does the same. The DOGE brats are collecting all sorts of illegal information on us, and who knows where it goes. It will be tied in with facial recognition and the innocent among us will be watched everywhere we go, and watched, and recorded, everything we do. Meanwhile, hacker brats will take advantage of all this surveillance. We lose.
Skibum says
Hi Jack. Just so you know… during my many years in law enforcement I never supported then, nor do I now support or defend the radical “constitutional” sheriffs who are nothing more than a bunch of maga loving extremists with badges as far as I am concerned. But that has nothing to do with some of the really innovative technological wonders that help law enforcement keep people safe as well as help solve crimes. I’m not one to be out there stripping people of their rights or trying to be “big brother”, but I certainly know how properly placed and used surveillance cameras can not only PREVENT crime but also catch criminals that otherwise might never be brought to justice.
Just watching the evening news from Orlando and surrounding areas nearly every day, I hear how local police struggle to get both victims of crime as well as witnesses to step up and give them critical information that would allow them to go arrest those who are running around committing violent crimes. With the hesitation or outright refusal of people to cooperate with the police even when serious felony crimes have happened, would you still have the same attitude and not want a surveillance camera in a public parking lot to identify an assailant who pushed your mother or grandmother down on the cement and stole her purse and got away? If your own daughter was driving her car through an intersection at night on her way home from work and was hit by the driver of a hit and run vehicle who fled the scene after seriously injuring or possibly killing your loved one, and there were no other witnesses around, would you not be thrilled that the police had a vehicle description and possibly even a license plate number due to the intersection having a red light or other type of surveillance camera?
New technology of all types that is being used by more and more law enforcement agencies to combat crime is not something to be despised or afraid of in today’s world, especially when so many people refuse to provide first-hand information to police so they can take really bad people off the streets and put them behind bars! Of course it has to be used properly, no argument there. We can all say oh how terrible surveillance cameras and other law enforcement technology is… until it becomes personal and saves the lives of our own family, friends, or maybe even our own lives, then it is awesome. Think about that. And sorry to disappoint you, but I’m never going to N. Korea. Living in today’s Trumpworld is hellish enough for me, thank you very much.