Detroit’s City Council has approved a three-year, $2.7 million contract to install surveillance cameras and new lighting across four city parks. The agreement with Detroit-based Bayview Electric Company LLC is set to bring "consistent lighting and security" to popular areas and walkways within Chandler Park, Eliza-Howell Park, Maheras-Gentry Park, and Rouge Park.
This initiative comes in response to community-expressed public safety concerns in these specific areas. According to City Council members, the General Services Department (GSD) reported over 700 “security-related interactions” in the four parks since the start of 2024, as outlined in responses to a memo from District 7 Council Member Denzel McCampbell.
Despite the clear community desire for increased security, some council members voiced concerns about privacy and surveillance. Council Members Denzel McCampbell and Gabriela Santiago-Romero noted these constituent concerns during the Tuesday meeting. McCampbell specifically highlighted residents’ constitutional rights and questioned whether collected data would be stored on a private, third-party server.
McCampbell stated that an ongoing conversation is needed to ensure residents feel safe in public spaces while avoiding an “increased surveillance state.” He added that responses to his internal memo from GSD eased enough of his concerns to allow him to reluctantly support the project, balancing the need for security with civil liberties. As part of the approval, GSD committed to publicly posting answers to McCampbell’s memo on its website, along with any finalized contracts and future amendments. City Council also mandated that GSD provide quarterly reports to the council detailing incident data, park contacts, and complaints from the four parks.
Council Member Santiago-Romero ultimately cast the sole 'no' vote on the project. She expressed her continued concerns and questions regarding increased surveillance in Detroit, referencing the council’s previous experience with Flock cameras being approved for freeways but later appearing in other city locations. Santiago-Romero acknowledged the difficulty of her vote, recognizing it was a measure requested by the community.
Details provided in the Community Input Over Government Surveillance (CIOGS) Specification Report to council indicate the cameras will collect data related to locations, vehicles, and/or individuals within the parks. GSD clarified in its responses to McCampbell’s memo that while a third-party vendor will handle installation, all collected data will be stored and monitored by the city’s own Video Management System, which is managed by the Department of Innovation and Technology.
GSD will adhere to its established Data Retention Policy, which dictates that video footage is kept for a maximum of 30 days unless it contains evidence of criminal activity. The cameras will be linked to the Detroit Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center to integrate “park operations and emergency response infrastructure.”
To address civil liberties concerns, the surveillance data will not be used for traffic or immigration enforcement, nor will cameras be used to target individuals for personal reasons—a concern previously noted with Flock cameras. McCampbell’s memo had pointed out that the CIOGS report did not explicitly list First Amendment activities under its prohibited use sanctions. GSD responded by affirming that its technology governance is strictly “content-neutral” to safeguard and avoid infringing upon visitors’ constitutional rights. GSD Security emphasized that “public parks belong to the community for expression, assembly and recreation.”
Any requests to access surveillance data will undergo review and require approval from the city’s Law Department. Furthermore, GSD will include park cameras in its annual reports on surveillance technology and its use.
