Austin may add more video surveillance to city parks
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Austin officials could deploy a mobile security trailer to city parks to tamp down burglaries — even as they consider ways to exert more control over surveillance initiatives.
Why it matters: Some parks have seen more than 100 vehicle burglaries annually, and a pilot project suggested security cameras can help lower crime.
Driving the news: On Thursday, Austin City Council members will consider a three-year contract for as much as $2 million with Utah-based LiveView Technologies for the rental of a mobile security trailer and other monitoring services.
What they're saying: The contract is meant "to foster a safer and more secure environment for all park visitors," Jesús Aguirre, director of Austin Parks, wrote in a memo last week to Austin City Council members.
By the numbers: A pilot project launched several years ago saw drops in crime in nine of the 15 parks in which cameras were deployed.
- Vehicle burglaries dropped from 373 in 2022 at Covert Park (by Mount Bonnell) to 88 during the first eight months of 2025.
- In that same time frame, they dropped from 100 at St. Edward's Park, in Northwest Austin, to 33, and from 100 along the Barton Creek Greenbelt to 21.
The intrigue: The parks security system "will not use facial recognition, biometric identification technology, audio capture, or autonomous analytics," per the Aguirre memo.
- "Any personally identifiable information, such as faces or license plates, will be excluded or redacted when not relevant to property crime investigations," the memo says.
Flashback: The city council held off on a vote on the LiveView Technologies contract in August, not long after the city ended its automatic license plate reader program over data privacy concerns.
Kevin Welch, president of EFF-Austin, a digital civil liberties nonprofit, tells Axios his group is opposed to the proposed contract.
- "Data collected is data that can be misused or leaked," Welch says.
- "These systems don't make me feel safer in a park — they make me feel watched," he adds.
The other side: The city would be the exclusive owner of all system data and LiveView would be barred from accessing, sharing or using the footage for any purpose, per Aguirre's memo.
The big picture: This week, council members will also consider adopting a resolution meant to expand their oversight of surveillance programs.
- The proposed resolution would require city departments to get approval from the council before acquiring new surveillance technology.
- "As these technologies become more powerful and pervasive, the city has a responsibility to be transparent, accountable, and clear about how they're used, who has access to the data, and how residents' rights are protected," Mayor Pro Tem José "Chito" Vela, one of the resolution's sponsors, said in a statement.
🚔 Pro tips: Austin police say these steps can help avoid a vehicle burglary.
- Lock your doors.
- Hide valuables.
- Park in well-lighted areas.
- Use anti-theft devices, like steering wheel locks.
- Remain vigilant about your surroundings.
- Install a dash camera, which can detect motion around the car.