City considers cameras at certain locations to stop vandals

Longmont will begin installing security and monitoring cameras in parks, green spaces, select intersections and in downtown areas that have become targets of graffiti, tagging, vandalism and other criminal acts.

That is according to a city staff report the city council will review Tuesday night. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

The initial trial will include cameras at Lanyon and Carr parks. An outside vendor that specializes in public safety surveillance will be contracted to help with the effort, the staff report states.

The city is placing “very strict” restrictions around who has access to the video content and how it is managed. The content will only be housed for 10 days and will not include facial recognition software but will include special cameras for license plate recognition, the staff report states.

“Hundreds of graffiti and vandalism events have taken place in Longmont parks this year alone,” the staff report states. “Thousands of other events have taken place in the downtown corridor.”