KALAMAZOO, Mich. — On Tuesday night, June 20, the city of Kalamazoo approved a three-year contract with Fusus Inc. to implement its real-time crime center camera program, which will give police live access to a variety of cameras.
In a previous city commission meeting, it was stated that the program will first be used for the busy Kalamazoo Mall in the downtown area.
“I’m divided because I can see a lot of the potential safety aspects and the ability to solve crimes faster,” said Becky Bil, owner of Pop City Popcorn, “But on the other hand, you have technology that can be compromised or used in ways that are not initially intended to be used.”
Weeks ago, during a city commission meeting on Monday, June 5, residents stood at the podium and told commissioners that they were “deeply troubled by the mass surveillance system”and some people questioned its funding. Others asked the commissioners to vote against the program.
However, in that same meeting, KDPS Chief David Boysen countered, saying, “it is not a mass surveillance system” and that it’s meant to solve crimes quicker.
Bil said she hopes that’s true. In the ten years she’s been on the Mall, her business has experienced or witnessed theft and lewd behavior.
“There’s been some attacks on clerks. Not very often, but those things, you can make a phone call and it might take a while. They get here as quick as they can,” Bil said. “But, you know, it just takes so much longer to solve something when it’s after the fact. From what I understand, the camera system would work if I called 9-1-1 and they just could open up my cameras right then and see what is going on at that time.”
Bil added that she would like to see the data, along with reviews from other cities that have implemented the program.
In 2016, in Detroit, the police department implemented a similar program called Project Greenlightin which eight gas stations installed real-time, high-definition cameras for police. According to the data, violence “reduced 23 percent year-to-date at all the sites.”
However, in October 2022, the National Institute of Justice: Crime Solutions stated that Project Greenlight was ineffective.
Specifically, that “there were no statistically significant effects on disorder occurrences or violent crime. The intervention did result in statistically significant reductions in property crime around treated businesses, compared with matched control businesses, at one-year post-implementation”
The City of Kalamazoo provided the following statement to FOX 17:
"Tuesday evening, the Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously approved the Fusus software program. Fusus has been utilized across hundreds of communities nationwide and Kalamazoo is the first city in Michigan to implement the system. Fusus will significantly improve situational awareness and increase efficiency for first responders and investigators to keep Kalamazoo safe."
“I think once it’s kind of shown that some people who do certain crimes get caught, I think that’s the thing,” said Monte Janssen, owner of Youz Guys Dogz, which is located on the Mall. “Once people get caught for a crime, there’s a consequence, that’s what it’ll bring [crime] down. And, if this is a tool that helps that happen, then I’m all for it.”
FOX 17 reached out to KDPS. The chief was unavailable for an interview but his team said that they’ll be meeting with Fusus over the next few weeks to finalize details and ultimately get more information out to the businesses who are interested in participating.
Janssen said his business doesn’t have any cameras but the building it’s in does.
Janssen said he hopes that accountability is a byproduct of the program and that its integrity won’t be compromised.
“As long as everything’s kept transparent and it’s used as a constructive tool, I’m good with that,” he said. “But if it starts to become something else, then again the private camera owners, I hope there’s an option for them to opt out.”
