The new system – called FUSUS – is meant to loop together several networks, including the city’s new license plate readers, traffic cameras, and even local business or household surveillance devices, which can be voluntarily added to the system.
Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said the FUSUS system is not one of continuous surveillance, but rather one that is activated when officers make a request that is then vetted by intelligence officers before the information is pulled.
"We're not constantly watching it," Weathers explained. " We get information in that directs us toward a certain area where a crime occurred or there's a public safety need. So we're not just sitting there watching people, and that, I think, what is confusing people. They think they're going to be watched all the time. No, we're only going to be looking at that when there's a need to looking at that."
The system would save video for 60 days before automatically erasing it, unless specific video is pulled as evidence.
Currently, 75% of the city’s license plate readers, or FLOCK, cameras have been installed – with the full 100 expected to go online within the coming months. A map of all 100 locations of the cameras is now available.
