A city filled with tourists snapping photos soon will get a few more cameras as Solvang looks to say farewell — or farvel in Danish — to vandalism and other crime.
On Monday night, the Solvang City Council approved a contract to place surveillance cameras at seven sites around the downtown area. The three-year contract with XIT Solutions adds up to $147,407.
“Frankly, I like the idea of it, and it is one of the goals that were supposed to be set for the city,” Councilman Mark Infanti said.
Before installation, the council intends to adopt a surveillance camera policy with a draft version to be presented as soon as the next council meeting on Aug. 11.
City Manager Randy Murphy said the first cameras would serve as a pilot program and that installation aligns with council goals regarding boosting public safety.
“The idea would be, assuming it worked out, we would be adding more cameras to the system,” Murphy said.
Staff doesn’t intend to monitor the cameras, but instead use them to track down suspects after a crime or information after an incident.
Employing artificial intelligence, the camera system would allow searching for someone in a red shirt or a specific vehicle and license plate.
Video likely would be limited to a couple of city staff members plus Sheriff’s Office personnel conducting investigations.
For instance, the cameras could help nab vandals and thieves such as the Christmastime grinch who cut wires for lights on roughly 30 trees in the downtown area.
In that case, the culprit could be convicted of one incident because a video camera only caught a homeless person damaging a lone tree despite the fact that the others occurred at the same time and in the same manner, Murphy said.
Solvang also has seen other vandalism, requiring thousands of dollars of repairs, to the public restrooms and city vehicles.
The new system would allow searches matching the suspect’s description.
“It’s not practical to have somebody watching it 24/7,” Murphy said.
Mayor David Brown asked about whether the city had received any comments from the business community.
Murphy said he had not heard from the business community but added that the local leaders for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, which operates as the city’s police department, favors installing the cameras.
Solvang has nine cameras already installed around City Hall from a less-sophisticated system, but it only notes activity such as a cat walking by or a tree blowing in the wind, making it cumbersome to track down images.
The new cameras reportedly would be integrated with the older system.
Solvang’s council members discussed surveillance cameras and a policy in February, when Murphy pointed out that the system could provide a less expensive way to enhance law enforcement efforts and public safety.
Santa Maria and Lompoc have automated license plate reader cameras that law enforcement leaders in each city have credited with helping solve crimes and reduce vehicle thefts.
“It’s been a boon to a lot of law enforcement agencies to have cameras like this,” Murphy told the City Council.
In 2020, a prior council narrowly rejected investing in license plate reader cameras that the then-staff said could be for both law enforcement use and marketing data collection, although the latter didn’t appear to be legal at that point.