Roughly one million passengers board CTA buses and trains every single day across the Chicago area, a massive undertaking for police to help keep riders safe.
While there are thousands of pod cameras installed on trains, busses, platforms, and all CTA property, some passengers believe crime continues to be a problem, and the agency is looking to leverage technology to address it.
NBC Chicago spoke to dozens of passengers to gauge their interest in stepped up security measures including the use of AI in pod cameras, and they overwhelmingly agreed it was necessary.
To that end, CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. announced Thursday morning the agency was making an investment in safety and technology by partnering with technology company Zero Eyes.
The new technology will implement Artificial Intelligence to detect the moment someone pulls out a gun. That alert will then be verified by personnel at the Zero Eyes Operations center, manned by former military and police officers.
The response is promised to be swift and effective, considering the trigger will include a picture of the suspect, the gun and the location of the incident allowing police to respond within a minute.
“Ensuring the safety and security of our riders and employees is our number one priority at the CTA, and this pilot allows us to explore how new technology may be able to support these efforts and further enhance already successful and effective technologies currently in place,” Carter said. “Instances of crime on the system are comparatively rare, and the CTA is proud to provide safe and reliable transportation to roughly one million riders a day. Our hope is this added measure of protection provides additional peace of mind to everyone.”
However, not everyone is on board. The ACLU has been vocal about surveillance in the city, estimating there are some 70,000 or even up to 80,000 public cameras in Chicago.
“The truth is that surveillance doesn’t really make people feel more safe it just makes people feel more fearful and more watched,” Ed Yohnka the Director of Communication and Public Policy said.
He believes the $200,000 the CTA is spending on this one year deal would be best used elsewhere, adding he is skeptical of the rapid evolution of A.I. technology.
“We don’t know what that looks like in a year or two years or three years,” Yohnka said.
The ACLU also believes the city and the CTA have often over-promised the effectiveness of pod cameras, arguing they do little to prevent or stop crime.
“We have to look for solutions that actually work, instead of reaching for the next panacea that’s promised to do something but it doesn’t really deliver on it’s promise for safety,” Yohnka said.
CTA awarded a 12-month contract to ZeroEyes, valued at up to $200,000, and will provide 24/7 monitoring of multiple cameras across the rail system, plus supervision and supporting equipment. This contract is being paid for with funds from the annual operating security budget.