Town Secretly Installs Hidden “Cactus Cameras” on Roadways

The otherwise quiet Arizona town of Paradise Valley recently attained the kind of surveillance you would expect to find in the city, albeit with a design that is made to blend in with the desert. The townspeople have been shocked to find that the city has been installing cameras hidden in fake cacti along the roadways of the city limits. A local Fox affiliate was sent to investigate the cameras and found that the town leaders and police were initially reluctant to explain themselves.

None of the townspeople who were interviewed knew what the cameras were for. They were installed over the past few days without notice. Eventually, the news team received an answer from the town manager. The cameras are going to read license plate numbers, and so that they can alert the police to cars that are stolen or related to amber alerts.

What’s so alarming about this case, is the complete lack of transparency. When the town manager was asked about the secrecy, he claimed that they were planning to announce the presence of these cameras after they had all been installed. In response to the concerns of residents, he said “It probably is fair, this is technology, we’re always learning about it, and so every time you think you’ve got it covered someone brings up a new idea.” This Fox affiliate reported on these cameras being installed in traffic lights in Paradise Valley last February, and were met with the same secrecy from public officials.