The Anchorage Assembly is set to take up a resolution at Tuesday’s regular meeting that could reshape how the city uses and manages its rapidly expanding network of traffic cameras.
The proposal by Chair Chris Constant, titled “A Resolution of the Anchorage Assembly Regarding the Implementation and Use of Traffic Cameras and Traffic Camera Recordings Throughout the Municipality,” comes from his concerns over pedestrian safety as well as individual privacy.
Anchorage recorded a grim milestone in 2024 — 15 pedestrians were struck and killed on city streets, the highest number on record. The pace has continued into 2025. In response to rising fatalities, the municipality has expanded its traffic camera program, installing cameras at 283 traffic signals since 2017 and on track to have them at every intersection by the end of summer, according to the Municipal Traffic Department. That does not include the state cameras installed on state-maintained road.
While city officials have promoted the program as a public safety tool, the resolution notes that the “ubiquitous employment of cameras” raises “serious concern for the privacy rights of the people of Anchorage and the visitors to our hometown.” It cites both the US Constitution and the Alaska Constitution’s unusually strong privacy protections, as well as past allegations of municipal misuse of surveillance footage, including within City Hall.
Currently, the city has no published policy governing how traffic camera footage is stored, accessed, or released. The resolution calls for the mayor’s administration to develop, adopt, and publicly release such a policy by Oct. 15, coinciding with the completion of the citywide installation of the remaining traffic cameras.
The proposal outlines two core principles for the new rules:
- Transparency and public accountability for municipal actions.
- Protection of individual privacy rights, including for crime suspects.
Among the specific features Constant wants included are:
- Explicit limits on which municipal employees may access cameras and review footage.
- Clear procedures for storage, release, and eventual destruction of recordings.
- Safeguards to prevent misuse of footage for political or personal purposes.
If approved, the resolution would take effect immediately. The meeting begins at 5 pm in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library, 3600 Denali St.
What a tool. Keep adding cameras, don’t try to stop the chronic inebriates from weaving(stumbling) through moving traffic. Liberalism.
This will do nothing to reduce pedestrian death and injury but it will cost taxpayers a lot of money and give city government a way to spy on and come after you for even a minor traffic infraction. Anchorage has the worse drivers in the nation and that won’t change with traffic cameras.
The chances of Tovarisch Constant having pure intent with this are low.
Zero
Welcome to China. Face recognition cameras everywhere, tracking your purchases your travel your banking your medications your alcohol purchases pretty much under the microscope every day. Meanwhile a bunch of stupid hippys run around flapping about Trump and democracy. You left wing a holes want the government to control everything you do well you are almost there. The next thing is food allotments and starvation. And for that I say F you. to many people have died for our freedom to have a bunch of scum bag bottom feeders screw it up.
Why are most politicians these days scum bag bottom feeders elected to office? Follow the money. Ask questions if they don’t shut you down at the podium. The arrogant sh!ts that have ruined Anchorage (and the entire State) are well funded by your and my tax dollars I believe.
dont forget those cameras the cops are running around with on their vests
I recently saw one on a cute cop who pulled me over in a speed trap. He didn’t even ask for my license and registration – just ran the ADL on his computer and let me go with a courteous admonishment. I told some friends I’d go trolling for that one to pull me over if I were 50 years younger. – Ha! (Not really).
Randy, police worn on-body cameras keep EVERYONE honest during a contact. That’s good for the LEO and the citizen being detained. Videos can’t be altered except for minor redaction of non-essential faces license plates etc. Keep in mind that AST didn’t wear them for a period of time. It’s far better for all of us that it’s required now. Less “He said-she said”
Just more invasion of privacy but with today’s society and the way some people act……..
We already fought and removed the camera ticket stuff. Not the property tax payers responsibility to be penalized for inibrats from being victims. How much is Meg Zatel raking in from the homeless scam?? Get off the streets
The Constitution of the State of Alaska text is clear; Art. I, § 22. Right of Privacy
The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed.
Do we have an absolute right to privacy when in a public space? Think again.
Since the Anchorage assembly is directly responsible for enabling the ongoing deaths, drug addiction and crime issues plaguing our city, 24/7 camera monitoring of their every move, day and night, would be money better spent!
Rules. Rules for thee and not for me. If they aren’t to be used because of “privacy” protection why were they installed? Stupid communists – do you really think we can’t smell the smoke you’re trying to blow up our rears?
Very good point, Rich.
WHY has there been such a push to install surveillance cameras throughout Anchorage? WHY?
WHO is asking for all this, and to what end?
Then next question is:
How long have we had traffic cameras in this town, exactly?
WHY is there still no policy regarding the use and access of this footage?
Any sane person would assume that there is a policy and rules in place PRIOR to ANY camera going up anywhere.
The city should have addressed all this and run it by the municipal attorney before they decided on this path long ago.
The the logical further question is: WHY NOW?
What happened that makes Mr. Constant all of a sudden concerned about WHO sees footage?
Mr. Constant, Mayor LaFrance, Mr. Rivera et.al what say you?
“Anchorage recorded a grim milestone in 2024” this is all on the assembly by erasing the Jaywalking code from the books.
True
If you’re walking down a public sidewalk or crossing a public street, you have no expectation of privacy. You’re in public. End of story.
So I’m supposed to stay locked away in my home so I’m not invaded. Privacy of course is what I mean. My bad…oh wait, they already attempted that with lock downs! Hmmmm, I thought that was jail, no expectation of privacy. End of story, thankfully not. Wonderful sunny summer day at least in Anchorage. : ) Hope it is in your part of Alaska too.
I bet you would be so much more happy and comfortable in Orwellian China.
Leave it to a radical leftist extremist to apologize for, and support, the total surveillance police state.
Good point. Our elections should be monitored just the same.
Hey everyone, CMAN is starting to come to his senses yo!
Technically you are correct cman, however the 4th amendment establishes your car as private property and therefor requires more scrutiny for access. Red light cameras get around this issue, as they only take a picture of you IF you disobey and violate the traffic law. This generalized indiscriminate spying on the general population by government in my opinion is quite creepy, as an intrusion into private citizens lives without due process or cause.
Don’t forget that each camera contains about a pound of copper that can be sold for dope money just sayin’
Remember the Republicans and not surprisingly democrats that voted for HB57.
“The Department of Labor & Workforce Development shall (8) gather data on the progress of each high school graduating class in a district by collecting career, postsecondary education, and residency data on each student in the graduating class; the department shall gather the data required under this paragraph HB57 every five years for 20 years after the high school graduation date of each high school graduating class; the department shall publish a biennial report on the data.”
§ 1.22 – Right of Privacy
“The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed.”
As stated in the article
https://mustreadalaska.com/david-boyle-what-about-constitutional-right-o-privacy-for-high-school-graduates/
If high school students have no right to privacy (except in the cases of schools hiding information from parents)
What make Anchorage or Alaska residents think they have any right to privacy?
Cameras in the confessionals? Under the guise of HB57. Yep, if that cell phone goes in with them so does their right to privacy.
1984
Right of privacy equals none in Anchorage.
The UK has more cameras all over the place than anywhere else I know of, except possibly China. Has not actually made the public safer in anyway.
Important difference between leftists and conservatives.
.
Conservatives see 1984 as a warning. Leftists see it as a How-to manual.
I find it funny the the Trump presidency has turned rabid leftists into hard core libertarians. It is so easy to manipulate the emotions of the unstable left.
I have not seen anyone better at trolling the left than our President. Canada as the 51st State… I am still grinning at the idea anyone actually fell for that.
APD used to called and request footage from our office cameras. The last request, I spent 2 hours of company time, gleaning through footage for a 5 second piece. I emailed it in, never received a response or thank you. We no longer fulfill APD camera footage requests. APD asked why more of our cameras don’t point into the street. “Company cameras are for company security. Bought, installed and maintained by the company. All cameras are aimed at points of entry.”
You’ll never receive a thank you from anyone in APD or the municipality in general. Look out for yourself and forget about trying to help jackasses.
Pretty much. Last interaction with APD was overkill. “Quentin” (our local homeless nutcase) walked into a warehouse that someone forgot to secure the night before. All of this happened around (0500hrs) as I showed up to work to get the system ready for the day. Boss man calls and says the alarm company called about a break-in at one of the warehouses and he was on his way down. I pull up the cameras for that warehouse. Here’s Quentin doing the moon walk across the warehouse. I’m on the phone with the boss man and he asks that I call APD. OK. I call, tell them the situation. I request they send a couple officers down and collect Quentin. Naw.. Too easy.. They sent a SWAT team down instead. I had to remind the dispatcher a couple times that the guy on the outside of the building was NOT who needed to collected and to NOT shoot him.
Excuse me, but Chris Constant finds it offensive to be called a “chair”. He prefers the term ‘power bottom”.