City of Kyle to get more surveillance cameras to help keep crime at bay

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) – The city of Kyle is likely to install a dozen new live-view cameras and 20 additional license plate readers to enhance public safety and support law enforcement efforts. 

The Kyle City Council approved in a 6-1 vote the new cameras with the locations to be determined at a later date. 

“These are not speed cameras – they are not monitoring your speed. These are used for serious offenses,” said Kyle Chief of Police Jeff Barnett. 

“We're talking about your more serious types of crimes – felony-related offenses, more serious misdemeanor-related offenses. We're using them to help find people we're already looking for. [We're using them] for Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts and other types of emergencies,” he continued. 

Barnett said that all data the cameras collect is scrubbed every 30 days unless it is being used in an investigation. Further, officers cannot access the data except for law enforcement purposes.

“You can’t just access the information at will. You have to have a lawful purpose to review the data,” Barnett said. 

“[People’s] information is protected. [We are] grounded in our procedures to make sure there's no abuse,” he continued. 

There are already 15 active license plate readers throughout Kyle. Barnett said the new devices should be installed within the next 10 months. 

“Kyle is a quickly growing city. We're able to use technology to help us along the way,” Barnett said.