New drones, license plate readers, tech for Durham police renew surveillance debate

Durham City Council voted 6-1 to approve a $16 million, eight-year contract with Axon Enterprises Inc., expanding the Durham Police Department’s use of surveillance technology. The agreement includes 100 additional in-car cameras, six drone units for 911 response, the Axon Fusus platform to unify video feeds and officer GPS data, auto-transcriptions of audio evidence, and virtual-reality Taser training. Unlimited device and third-party data storage will be hosted on Axon’s secure cloud. Opponents criticized the contract during a two-hour public hearing, comparing it to rejected technologies like ShotSpotter and real-time crime centers. Damon Williams called the drones and Fusus platform ‘truly heinous,’ warning of AI-driven predictive policing, while Brian Fox expressed concerns about third-party data storage and corporate surveillance. Residents urged redirecting funds to youth programs and violence prevention instead. Supporters argued the technology is necessary to combat violent crime in Durham’s Black and brown neighborhoods. Floyd McKissick of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People emphasized the need to leverage AI for crime reduction, stating, ‘We can’t be afraid of it.’ Councilwoman Shanetta Burris highlighted community trauma, citing a drive-by shooting where a 21-year-old mother was killed in front of her children. The Fusus platform, marketed as a situational awareness tool, aggregates public and private security feeds but has raised questions about data access and AI use. Police staff distinguished it from a real-time crime center, framing it as a tool to improve incident response. The debate centered on balancing public safety with concerns over surveillance and corporate accountability.