CPD to hold third public meeting about Fusus on Nov. 9
COLUBMIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Police Department will hold its third public meeting to answer community concerns about their possible policy and procedures related to the Fusus software next week.
The meeting will be at 6-8 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Molly Thomas Bowden Neighborhood Policing Center, 1204 International Drive, according to a press release.
Fusus is a software that allows police to access public and business video footage.
CPD held a pair of meetings about Fusus earlier this week. The feedback gathered from those meetings will be incorporated into the proposed policy being discussed on Nov. 9.
The Department also invites questions through BeHeardCoMo, a City of Columbia website where community members can ask questions and express their views on the use of the software.
At its meetings this week, CPD officers and Fusus representatives met with local business owners and community members to answer questions about the software.
Fusus spokesman Sahil Merchant said at the meeting that the software is used in more than 150 cities nationwide. Merchant said Fusus does not add any more security cameras to the city.
CPD officials believe using the software would allow them to allocate resources appropriately. Chief of Police Geoff Jones previously said the program would be "an opt-in thing for anybody, it's complete voluntary."
"Having the information that comes from camera footage sooner gives us the ability to look for the car or the person dressed in a certain way more quickly, and it gives us the ability to direct our resources towards the investigation and less towards trying to gather video from business to business" Jones said last month following a Downtown shooting that occurred during Mizzou's Homecoming weekend.
Detractors of the system include the Mid-Missouri Civil Liberties Association, who sent a letter of concern to the City Council last month.
Columbia's Downtown Leadership Council voted in favor of Columbia police using the software.
