Washington officials clarify security camera use
City Mayor JoJo Burgess is confident that a series of tech upgrades will enable the Washington Police Department to keep collected data from security cameras placed at three local playgrounds more safe than under the previous arrangement.
Washington City Council approved a contract with Dave Davis Communications in early September that will allow the Finleyville-based IT firm to provide continuous support and increased connectivity for the city-wide camera network for $42,550 equipment cost and a monthly service fee of $1,134.
According to Burgess, three city playgrounds – 7th Ward, 8th Ward and Dewey Park – are scheduled to have security cameras installed under an agreement inked in 2025 with a different local security firm, but an eventual “split within the company” delayed the installation of the camera in the 8th Ward and Dewey Park playgrounds until now and caused the city’s police department to lose internet access to the sole set of operational cameras within the 7th Ward Playground.
This loss of internet access in early 2026 forced the police department to ask local residents and businesses around the 7th Ward Playground if they could connect the cameras to their wifi system, which created an intolerable data security vulnerability, according to city police Chief Steve Devenney.
Davenney said a ransomware attack that crippled the city’s internal computer network for two weeks in 2019 and a separate ransomware incident that forced Washington County to pay $350,000 to hackers in 2024 increased his department’s sensitivity to potential security issues like this.
By installing new wireless modems at the three playgrounds, Davenney said the department will be able to transmit data from the cameras back to police headquarters directly without worrying about any unwanted intrusion from third parties.
Footage collected from these cameras will help the department to “hold people accountable” if any vandalism or criminal activity occurs in the playgrounds, he said.
Davenney said he hopes that Dave Davis Communications and new IT consultant twopackIT LLC will be able to reconfigure and update the city’s computer systems and integrate the playground cameras into the police department’s existing network in the next month or two.
Until then, Washington Police Department officers will receive specialized training in how to use the cameras in a proper manner that is compliant with state-mandated data security standards.
Davenney said the department has policies in place that limit who can access data from the cameras to only officers who have completed the required training.
“It’s a slow process; we don’t want to move too fast before we expand (the camera network),” Davenney said.
Burgess said any residents who have questions about the city’s use of security cameras should contact his office in City Hall for clarification.