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Council clears funding shift to replace Police Department real-time crime center video wall; MPD says AI used only for object detection, not facial recognition
Summary
Memphis Police Department sought a scope change to fund replacement of a failing video wall in its Real Time Crime Center. MPD said the system uses AI for object detection (vehicle color/type, backpacks) but not for local facial recognition; federal agencies may assist with facial-recognition analysis in serious cases.
The Memphis Police Department asked the council on June 24 to approve a scope change in a capital-improvement project to repurpose available grant funding (referred to by MPD as a BGA grant) to replace a failing video wall in the Real Time Crime Center.
Deputy Chief Joe Oakley told the committee the current wall has been in service since about 2007 and is failing; the replacement will allow the Real Time Crime Center to continue monitoring in-car video, body-worn camera and fixed-camera feeds and integrated GIS mapping. MPD said the request is funded by grant dollars that were originally allocated for in-car video systems and clarified the in-car program itself had been funded via a federal grant, avoiding a trade-off between core camera systems and the video wall project.
On AI and privacy, council members asked whether the Real Time Crime Center integrates AI and whether facial recognition is used. Oakley described use of an Infusys integrated-mapping solution that employs AI for object detection only (vehicle color, vehicle type, bicycles, persons with backpacks). He said MPD does not run facial-recognition algorithms locally; when facial recognition is sought, federal law-enforcement partners can provide that capability and MPD will request assistance when necessary for serious crimes. Oakley said such requests are rare.
Action: The committee approved the scope change with a favorable recommendation and same-night minutes. Council members asked for clearer captions on future resolutions to include transfer amounts in captions and sought confirmation the in-car-video program remains funded and was not being supplanted by the video-wall replacement; MPD confirmed the in-car-video program had been funded by the federal grant and the transfer would not reduce those in-car-video funds.
Ending: The resolution will proceed to the full council with a favorable committee recommendation. MPD said the new video wall will support continued monitoring of multiple video streams and mapping feeds; the department reiterated it uses AI for object detection and relies on federal partners for facial-recognition analysis in exigent cases.
