Oxford police to deploy AI weapon-detection camera system
OXFORD - The Oxford Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved an agreement Aug. 18 allowing the police department to add an artificial-intelligence weapon-detection system to existing city cameras.
At the meeting, Oxford's police chief told the board the technology builds on cameras already in place. "As we discussed last week, this is simply a first alert system that is already attached to some of our existing cameras," the chief said, adding that it includes "a human review element before a complete dispatch is sent out."
According to the chief, the system is limited to detecting brandished weapons. If a camera flags what it perceives to be a weapon, a small number of designated individuals would receive a phone alert with a photo, along with the time and location, allowing staff to determine quickly whether the alert is real. "We'll know where to send officers to immediately. It's not a guesswork," the chief said, describing the approach as proactive rather than waiting for a 911 call.
The agreement runs for one year and is funded through a state homeland security grant rather than city money, officials said. The system, known as Zero Eyes, expands the police department's use of camera-based monitoring. Questions remain about how alert data will be stored, who will have access to it, and whether the arrangement will continue as a city expense after the grant period ends.