The Chicago Transit Authority is testing technology that can identify guns in its” L” stations using artificial intelligence.
The systems, from business ZeroEyes, instantly detects weapons that have been brandished. Pictures are sent to a ZeroEyes activities center where employees examine them, identify what the item is, and inform pertinent government like Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, such as police, CTA authorities, and the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The objective, CTA authorities said, is to notify police immediately to any condition arising at the transport agency’s stations. Usually the call may be made in under a moment, they said.
The evaluation system comes as the CTA has grappled with , concerns about personal health, both real and perceived, in recent years, and as the use of different types of technology to address public health concerns , has grown. ZeroEyes systems has occasionally been employed on other public transportation systems, and the business lauds its use in schools, businesses, and other locations.
But a distinct gun monitoring systems used in Chicago, ShotSpotter, became a , social flashpoint , earlier this year. Supporters claim that the technology, which uses acoustic sensors to locate potential outside gunfire while ZeroEyes relies on images, makes it easier for police to arrive at crime scenes and allows critical aid to achieve gunshot victims more quickly. Critics, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, labeled it a pricey incentive for overpolicing, and the president has nodded to research questioning its usefulness as a resource to curb crime and get crooks.
According to Ed Yohnka, a spokeswoman for ACLU Illinois, technologies like ZeroEyes demands transparency from the CTA, and it could help lay the groundwork for the use of additional overbearing technologies. He claimed that while CTA monitors were being promoted as a means of enhancing security, a new technology is required.
” There are alternatives to security concerns. I’m not certain whether or not any of the above-mentioned methods being used by companies to promote transparent systems and to get people’s opinions on how they should operate and where they want to operate are the answer, he said.
On the CTA, information about the occurrence of especially gun-related acts, such as the kind that could be detected by ZeroEyes, was not instantly available. The Chicago Police Department said on Wednesday that it was unable to quickly give gun-specific statistics, but the CTA referred questions about crime data to the CTA.
The ministry did report 626 violent murder cases on the CTA this year through August 27, an increase from 547 during the same time period last year.
According to CTA spokesperson Maddie Kilgannon,” One weapon on the program is too many, which is why we’re interested in looking into ways to increase our protection on top of the measures that are already in location.”
The systems will add the CTA’s use of armed protection, K-9 teams and Chicago police to police the program. The organization has increased its security investing in recent years as it has added dog teams and guards. In 2024, the organization will spend virtually$ 65 million to pay for security services. Through June, surveillance company spending was running overbudget.
The$ 200, 000 ZeroEyes test run, which has been in place for about a month, will run through summer 2025 to start, CTA Vice President of Security Kevin Ryan said. The software uses the CTA’s existing devices to find weapons once they have been exposed, and is now installed on more than 250 of the company’s about 30, 000 devices, he said.
Ryan declined to identify which stations or coach lines have ZeroEyes because of security concerns. However, it is currently being used in all CTA coach stations throughout the system. He anticipates that the system will grow if the test work goes well, which will be determined based on whether the technologies performs as expected, if law enforcement is able to respond to any weapons information fast enough to take action, or if it serves as a deterrent to potential gun carriers.
He claimed that the program has so far discovered toy guns, including large electronic water guns, as well as firearms that law enforcement officers have openly carried. ZeroEyes gave the toy guns to Chicago and CTA officials a warning, noting that they were not thought to be deadly, and that it was then up to local authorities to decide how to react, according to Ryan.
” One of the reasons I really like ZeroEyes is that it has a human component,” he said. ” It does n’t rely on AI or computers to finish the job.”
Officers responding to calls from people with guns almost always want more details about the destination, according to Ryan, who previously worked for the Chicago Police Department. A photo of the person, according to him, helps managers understand what to expect and how to best use their resources.
” Stuff like that, weapons, it does n’t happen everyday”, Ryan said. ” But when it occurs, it has significant repercussions on public transportation for obvious reasons, so I want to find a way to minimize that as much as possible.”
The technology has been used by other transit agencies, including Philadelphia’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which operates a metro, along with buses and regional rail.
However, ZeroEyes, a year-long pilot program, was abruptly terminated by the organization. The technology was n’t compatible with SEPTA’s analog cameras, and the agency decided to reallocate funding toward other needs, according to reporting from the Philadelphia Inquirer and the , local ABC TV station.
Kilgannon claimed that CTA did not anticipate the same problems. The Chicago agency employs a different camera system, which, according to her, has been of high enough quality to be useful.
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