Despite community criticism, the Durham City Council on Monday, June 1, approved by a vote of 6-1, the renewal of a $16 million contract with Axon Enterprises Inc., a global technology company for the public security.
The agreement renews and extends to eight years the current contract that Durham has maintained with the company since 2019, which has supplied the Durham Police Department with body cameras, Taser guns and vehicle cameras.
Before the vote, Durham residents voiced concerns during a public hearing about the surveillance implications of maintaining and extending the current contract, while its supporters see it as a tool for resolving [the issue]. violent crimes and expedite justice in the city.
What does the contract include?
The contract with Axon Fusus includes:
- 100 additional patrol cameras to achieve full coverage of the police unit.
- 6 “Drone as First Responder” (DFR) drones to answer 911 calls before police officers arrive.
- Axon Fusus platform, which allows centralizing video and the location of officers in real time during critical incidents.
- Automatic transcription of audio and video using artificial intelligence.
- Unlimited storage for digital evidence from Axon Fusus devices and other sources.
- Taser training program in virtual reality (VR).
The quotation also mentions the inclusion of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) if Axon Fleet, Outpost, or Lightpost are included. This does not necessarily mean that Durham will install new fixed readers, but rather that the contracted infrastructure includes license plate recognition technology.
Related: What surveillance tools does ICE use?
Privacy and immigration concerns
Criticism focused on how the city is expanding a $16 million contract for “police surveillance technologies” while falling short on funding for community programs in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026-27.
“I’m here to speak out against the more than $16 million budget allocated to police surveillance technology, while the city of Durham is already facing a budget deficit,” said Durham resident Brian Fox.
Added to this is the concern that these surveillance technologies could have an impact on privacy and immigrant communities.
“We are a city that claims to care about stopping ICE and the arrests of our people; however, we are using a data sharing and storage center that can easily share that information with these entities that take our people and kidnap them,” said Leslie Saint Dray, a Durham resident.
Above all, the main concern remains the expansion of ALPR technologies, which, according to Durham activist Victor Urquiza, “have been used by ICE.”
“Its nature is so controversial that numerous municipalities across the nation have been forced to terminate their contracts for the use of these technologies,” he stated.
Related: Asheville City Council approved the creation of a real-time surveillance center
Public safety as a central argument
However, although in smaller numbers, some residents supported the expansion of these technologies.
Floyd McKissick, chairman of the Durham Committee on African American Population Affairs, stated that residents want authorities to use all available tools to combat crime and hold accountable both those who commit crimes and those who commit them. offenses as well as the agents for their conduct.
“African American and brown people in neighborhoods throughout this city want to know that everything possible is being done to reduce crime in our community,” McKissick said.
Leo WilliamsThe mayor of Durham also defended the implementation of the contract with Axon, noting that these technologies will help minimize the violence and crime currently facing the city.
“People are dying every day; we’re talking about a matter of life and death,” Williams stated. He also noted that the Police Department faces increasingly complex threats, such as encounters with high-powered weapons, including machine guns, military-grade weapons, and AK-47 rifles.
Walter Tate, Durham's acting police chief, will present the first quarter crime report on Thursday, June 4.
According to Williams, this report will show an increase in criminal activity and the need for additional technological resources to support the Police Department's public safety efforts.
>> Check here the New contract between Axon Enterprises and the City of Durham
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