Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Policing Data Sharing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Canton Council approves intergovernmental agreement to join Cherokee County—s IaaS crime-data platform
Summary
After public concerns about artificial intelligence and data governance, Canton—s council voted to approve an intergovernmental agreement allowing the city to access Cherokee County—s Intelligence-as-a-Service platform. The police chief said the county—s intelligence center will run the system and that Canton staff will be able to audit access; council asked for a follow-up report.
Canton 94 The Canton City Council voted to approve an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Cherokee County Sheriff—s Office that will allow Canton Police Department personnel to use the county—s Intelligence-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform.
The move came after extended public comment and council questioning about oversight of artificial-intelligence tools. Thomas Weaver, a Canton resident who spoke during public input, urged the council to "pause" and consider safeguards. Weaver said artificial intelligence "should be approached with grave caution" and asked for time to review legal and ethical risks before the city adopts the system.
The Canton police chief told the council the platform (referred to in the presentation as the Paragon/Paradigm system) centralizes records-management and computer-aided-dispatch data to speed analysis of calls for service and help allocate patrol resources. "The biggest piece of this that uses artificial intelligence is the Paragon System," the chief said. He said the system aggregates data so officers can quickly determine where additional patrols are needed or identify crime patterns.
On questions about oversight, the chief said the IaaS instance the city would use is operated through the Cherokee County intelligence center and managed by command-level county staff. Canton officers would not directly log into a separate server; the county logs all requests and the chief said Canton can request audit reports frequently. "I can request an audit every day, every week, every 30 days," the chief said, noting that internal audits can be matched to case numbers to flag inappropriate use.
Council members pressed the chief on retention and security. He said retention varies by case type: some serious-case records may be retained for decades, while other data can be kept for a year or according to state minimums; county data retention was described as "up to five years" in the presentation with annual review. On security, the chief said agencies take precautions but cannot guarantee a system is impervious to hacking.
Before the vote, a council member read key IGA language that requires Cherokee County to provide login credentials and technical access; requires Canton to maintain appropriate IT services; limits access to authorized Canton police personnel subject to county policies; and obligates both parties to follow federal, state and local laws governing data use.
A council motion to approve the agreement carried by voice vote. After the vote the chief agreed to include a summary of experience with the platform in the department—s annual report, and council asked staff to revisit some of the questions raised tonight in a future update.
What—s next: The IGA takes effect according to its terms; Canton staff will integrate the city—s records-management system with the county platform and the police chief said he will provide usage reporting to council in future reporting.
