DeKalb County commissioners are fast-tracking legislation to tweak the new video surveillance requirements, changes that should bring more gas stations and convenience stores into compliance.
For the most part, the proposed changes from Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, who introduced the original legislation, are technical and don’t fundamentally alter the law’s intent. But among the changes introduced this week is new language clarifying police won’t seize footage without a warrant, something a civil rights group had challenged as unconstitutional.
Gas stations and convenience stores in DeKalb are the sites of a disproportionate amount of violent crimes in the county, and the regulations requiring those businesses to install high-quality video surveillance systems were designed to serve as a deterrent.
DeKalb County was the first in the Atlanta-area to adopt such an ordinance. The law went into effect last summer , at which point businesses were required to install cameras covering entrances and exits, parking lots, cash registers, all gas pumps and any loading docks. They’re required to keep the footage on hand for 60 days.