Pueblo Police Department requests $900,000 for new AI traffic cameras
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Pueblo Police Department (PPD) is requesting $900,000 to purchase new artificial intelligence traffic cameras designed to flag drivers for speeding.
Police officials plan to place the cameras at multiple locations based on crash and citation data collected across the city. The department has identified 11 priority locations for installation, including Dillon Drive, Cesar Chavez Parkway and Northern Avenue.
Officials say the $900,000 is an estimated annual cost. The monthly cost will be around $75,000. Projections from the police department say that the cost would be recouped through citations.
Department officials noted that these cameras are separate from automatic license plate readers that recently generated local controversy.
The proposed cameras are designed to automatically erase all information for non-traffic violators within 12 to 24 hours and that data will never be seen by human beings, according to officials.. Any citations issued through the system must be reviewed and approved by a staff member at police department.
Drivers receiving citations would face a fine only, with no points assessed against their driver's licenses. Pueblo City Councilman Roger Gomez said he views the technology as a practical resource for law enforcement to protect residents in his district.
“You've got speeding going on and it turns into the Bessemer Raceway down here,” Gomez said. “I'm not sitting here just saying, I want 'Big Brother' here.”
Gomez argued that the city should utilize available technological tools to address traffic issues.
“It's sort of like having the ingredients for a cake, but you don't bake it,” Gomez said. “Bake the damn cake already.”
He noted that local officials are continuing to study how the system works.
“The technology is moving at jet speed and I'm not there,” Gomez said. “And I know there's a lot of councils that are not there and we're still learning the process.”
While Gomez has not yet decided how he will vote on the funding request, he expressed no concern over the presence of traffic cameras in the city.
“I could care less,” Gomez said. “Think about a drone in the middle of my car and I'll drive around all day long. I don't break the law. I don't expect my constituents in my area to break the law. But that's why I don't fear technology.”
No vote has been scheduled on the proposal.
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