# 750 Funded. About 15 Running. One Hearing. > 750 camera feeds is the ceiling Anchorage funded for its police crime center. Published 2026-08-25 by Alaska AI. 9 slides. Canonical: https://alaskaaihq.com/archive/2026-08-25/ ## The story 750 feeds funded. About 15 running. Hearing September 1st. One employee. About 15 cameras. The Real Time Crime Center opened at police properties and Town Square Park. The Assembly had already approved $11.8 million for a system designed to stream up to 750 feeds. The room was one person. Most of the cameras already exist. The center is separate from dispatch. It is used once a call comes in, to help officers respond, the police chief says. (C33) The AI in this system reads plates. "Let's put this into code now, so that when power changes, when the political winds shift, as they always do, we have protections for the people, no matter who is overseeing and implementing the system." Four rules, none of them law yet. The clock barely changes. Who can change it does. "When my constituents ask, 'What are we collecting? Who can see it? How long do we keep it?' Anchorage code can't answer any of those questions." The money and the rule arrive on the same day. Roughly $600,000 to ThunderCat Technology for video displays, sound equipment and video processing technology, from fine and forfeiture funds. The system it upgrades was approved at $11.8 million (C05). The rule is still cheap to write. Ask your Assembly member which of the four they will vote for on September 1st. ## What we verified - Assembly member Sydney Scout describes the Real Time Crime Center as a $12 million commitment made by the Assembly last September. [Anchorage Daily News opinion, by Assembly member Sydney Scout](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2026/08/20/opinion-public-safety-cannot-come-at-the-expense-of-civil-liberties/), primary document, 2026-08-20. - Co-sponsor Sydney Scout writes that under the ordinance Assembly approval is required before adding new surveillance capabilities including AI powered tracking or identification technology. [Anchorage Daily News opinion, by Assembly member Sydney Scout](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2026/08/20/opinion-public-safety-cannot-come-at-the-expense-of-civil-liberties/), primary document, 2026-08-20. - Co-sponsor Sydney Scout states that Anchorage already has a ban on facial recognition technology. [Anchorage Daily News opinion, by Assembly member Sydney Scout](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2026/08/20/opinion-public-safety-cannot-come-at-the-expense-of-civil-liberties/), primary document, 2026-08-20. - A public hearing on the Real Time Crime Center items is scheduled for the Anchorage Assembly's September 1st meeting. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The Anchorage Assembly is considering a roughly $600,000 contract with ThunderCat Technology to buy new equipment for the Anchorage Police Department's Real Time Crime Center on Elmore Road. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The money for the ThunderCat contract comes from federal and state fine and forfeiture funds. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - The proposed upgrade would add video displays, sound equipment and video processing technology to the crime center. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - The Anchorage Assembly approved $11.8 million last year for the Real Time Crime Center system. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The system is designed to stream up to 750 camera feeds along with automatic license plate readers and drone footage. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The camera network the crime center can draw on includes more than 250 city traffic cameras as well as officer worn cameras. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Roughly 216 residents have registered their home security cameras with the police department so far. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Residents and businesses register their own cameras with the police department voluntarily. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - When the Real Time Crime Center launched in September 2025 it ran with one employee and about 15 cameras at police properties and Town Square Park. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Patrol car license plate records collected through the Real Time Crime Center are destroyed after 14 days unless attached to a criminal case. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Traffic camera footage is overwritten every three to five days and is not stored unless it is evidence attached to a criminal case. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The proposed ordinance would require a case number for each surveillance data search. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The proposed ordinance would require the city to erase individuals' data after two weeks unless police are using it as evidence in an active investigation. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The proposed ordinance would prevent the city from sharing footage with out of state or federal agencies without a warrant. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Alaska Public Media reports the ordinance would require that the crime center's use of AI be approved by the Assembly. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - The Anchorage Daily News reports the ordinance would prevent the police department from adding artificial intelligence technology with human feature recognition capabilities without Assembly permission. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The three published accounts describe the ordinance's AI provision in three different ways and the ordinance text itself was not publicly reachable to settle the wording. [Anchorage Daily News, compared against Alaska Public Media and the sponsor's op-ed](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - In 2023 the Anchorage Assembly placed strict limits on the city's use of facial recognition technology for surveillance. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Alaska's News Source reports the Assembly voted to bar the use of facial recognition in 2023. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - Police Chief Sean Case said the Anchorage Police Department does use object recognition for its license plate readers. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - Chief Sean Case said the police department has some capability to use object recognition with the camera feeds it takes in and that it is unknown whether transmitting that data through the system is possible. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Chief Sean Case said the police department does not use facial recognition technology. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Chief Sean Case said some of those technologies come with the equipment the department has and that before using any of them the department will come to the Assembly body generally through the Public Health and Safety Committee. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - Chief Sean Case said the technology package is a very significant move for the municipality and that the department is not going to outrun its coverage on it. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/05/anchorage-police-seeking-upgrades-real-time-crime-monitoring/), report, 2026-08-05. - Assembly member Keith McCormick said Anchorage code can't answer his constituents' questions about what is collected, who can see it and how long it is kept. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Assembly member Sydney Scout said Alaskans have a right to privacy that shall not be infringed and that the sponsors are trying to enshrine existing rights into the new system. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Assembly member Sydney Scout said the proposed license plate reader policy would allow use only for traffic enforcement and justifiable tracking reasons like missing kids or stolen vehicles. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Assembly member Sydney Scout said the sponsors want the protections in code now so that they hold when the political winds shift and no matter who oversees the system. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Chief Sean Case said the Real Time Crime Center is a separate entity from dispatch and that its resources are used after a call comes in to help officers respond. [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-08-21/as-anchorage-assembly-weighs-police-surveillance-upgrade-some-members-want-privacy-protections-first), report, 2026-08-21. - Keith McCormick, Sydney Scout and Vice Chair Daniel Volland introduced the surveillance ordinance at the Assembly's meeting on Tuesday, August 18th. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - Keith McCormick raised his concerns at an August 4th Assembly meeting and asked that approval of the contract be postponed, a request Sydney Scout agreed with. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. - The Assembly held a work session on the Real Time Crime Center on Friday, August 21st. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2026/08/20/anchorage-police-may-expand-surveillance-capabilities-some-assembly-members-want-privacy-protections-first/), report, 2026-08-20. Slides and the deck PDF are linked from the canonical page.