This Gwinnett city is using cameras with new AI technology to help them catch criminals

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. — A Gwinnett County city is using high-tech cameras to help crack down on graffiti that keeps showing up in their downtown square.

Graffiti has been showing up in a parking garage at the Peachtree Corners town center and at The Forum shopping center across the street.

City leaders want to do more than clean it up, they want to make sure it stops for good before it leads to anything else.

“If you intervene and say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ you never know the response from the people that are doing that,” said Edward Restrepo, who is the new chief marshal for the city.

“We have a lot of hats I guess you could say,” Restrepo said.

His team works with Gwinnett County police to tackle crime and quality of life issues.

Restrepo told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that he’s made adding sophisticated cameras to the town center a priority after a rise in vandalism there and at The Forum shopping center.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Video shows convicted murderer’s violent reaction when guilty verdict is read in Ga. court
• Gwinnett woman finds wanted fugitive hiding in her home
• Cherokee County woman appointed head of military suicide prevention campaign

“Technology is always at the forefront of what we do,” Restrepo said.

His team added 10 cameras in the parking garage that come with new technology.

“AI technology built in that have been really helpful in identifying these and helping us curtail future incidents,” Restrepo said.

Instead of looking through a week of video to find a “when” and a “where,” object recognition tools help them search for specifics.

“From there, we’re able to use the whole ecosystem of camera systems that are in here to follow those individuals,” Restrepo said.

Restrepo said his team has already identified the teens responsible and will be notifying parents soon.

The hope is that the cameras will stop the graffiti and prevent future more serious crimes too.

“We’re not going to tolerate and there’s going to be consequences,” Restrepo said.

The cameras don’t use facial recognition, instead object recognition. The marshal said he worked with school resource officers in the area to help ID the teens.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Video shows convicted murderer's violent reaction when guilty verdict is read in Ga. court

©2024 Cox Media Group