The city council of Stockton, California recently approved the use of vehicle-mounted cameras and artificial intelligence software to help its police department detect and report code violations. The city will enter into a $237,600-per-year contract with City Detect for one year, with optional second and third years.
The Alabama-based company City Detect uses predictive artificial intelligence to find and report code violations – such as graffiti, peeling paint, boarded windows, and blight – by using a camera on the roof of code enforcement vehicles. The cameras analyze scenarios throughout the city, with its AI system analyzing the built environment “exponentially faster than traditional reporting methods,” according to the company. Locations are given a relative blight score, which reflects their blight or deterioration compared with other areas, and that score is used by code enforcement officers to prioritize resources and interventions. Under the new program, officers will continue their regular patrols and address issues, while the AI will simultaneously capture images for later examination.
The City has stated that there is a severe shortage of staff, with seven open positions currently in the city for building code enforcement positions, and only 13 officers overseeing the entire city at this time. Earlier this year the city ran a week-long test of the technology, and found 4,000 violations on 2,500 different properties.
The city expects that the use of CityDetect’s system will allow code enforcement officers to spend more time proactively finding violations and educating the community rather than primarily reacting to complaints.