Dallas issues first citations tied to AI code enforcement cameras

The city also sent thousands of notices to residents saying they might face future enforcement if violations are not corrected, but the city insists those notices are not "warnings."

NBC 5 Investigates has obtained city records, raising new questions about Dallas's AI code enforcement cameras and whether they could disproportionately affect homeowners who may not be able to afford home repairs.

The records show the city has issued its first citations to homeowners for violations that the city says AI cameras first detected and humans later confirmed.

In a memo written last week addressing questions about the cameras, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert wrote that "57 citations have been issued at 34 properties for non-compliance," so far.

In addition to the citations, Dallas Code Compliance told NBC 5 Investigates it has also opened hundreds of additional enforcement case files on properties where the cameras picked up what officials describe as more serious code violations.

"We have opened about 300 cases where we believe that priority dictates that a code officer is out there and that the issue get resolved soon," said Jeremy Reed, Assistant Director of Dallas Code Compliance.

The cameras just went fully operational over the summer. Mounted on the city's fleet of bulk trash collection trucks, they snap pictures as the trucks pass by homes and use AI to detect potential code violations.

As NBC 5 Investigates first reported, the system also generates "blight scores" that code compliance uses to prioritize addresses for review.

On top of the citations issued and new cases opened, the city said it has also sent what it calls "courtesy notices" to 3,700 property owners, notifying them of detected violations.

In a statement, Code Compliance recently told NBC 5 Investigates that those notices "do not require anything of the property owners."

And in the city manager's recent memo, Tolbert wrote, "A courtesy notice is not a warning or a violation."

But that's not how Sarrah Morrison took it when a notice arrived in her Oak Cliff mailbox.

It said there were violations on her property, including “litter” and a roof that was "not in operating condition." The notice came with a photo that the AI cameras snapped of her house.

Morrison told NBC 5 Investigates that the wording in the notice led her to believe the city would likely come out to inspect her house or issue her a citation soon.

Near the top of the notice, in bold letters, it said "violations identified."

It does go on to say the letter is a "courtesy notice and is not a citation or formal notice of violation." But after that it said, "If the violations remain, the City may issue a Notice of Violation, issue a citation, or refer the property for abatement..."

It also said, "Please correct the violations promptly to avoid further enforcement action."

Despite that language, city officials have said the notice does not constitute a warning and requires nothing of the property owner.

"I would say it's an education for the property that any code violation on a property that's not dealt with could result in enforcement, but it's not going to happen because they received a courtesy notice," Reed said.

After NBC 5 Investigates reminded Reed the notice asks the homeowner to do something to avoid enforcement and asked if that isn't a warning, Reed replied: "I think at this point, you're mincing words. I would say you could call that a warning. It is a notification to the property that there is a code violation."

The city said a courtesy notice will not directly result in a citation, but if the violation remains and an inspector sees it later or a neighbor complains, the city could issue a citation.

Morrison believes the wording in the notices is confusing and will strike fear in people who can't afford to repair their homes.

"It just seems really slimy and manipulative and, you know, I'm worried about people who don't understand that this doesn't actually carry the weight that the wording implies it does," said Morrison.

She said she called the city and they told her the AI camera detected what appeared to be a temporary repair on her roof.

She provided documentation showing it's a permanent piece of flashing installed years ago to protect an area of the flat roof.

"I was told that there'd be a note on my file and I'd never receive any notices about this again, and yet I received a copy of the very same notice just a couple days later," Morrison said.

As for the 57 citations issued so far, records show most went to Southern Dallas property owners in three City Council districts where a majority of residents are Black and Hispanic.

The city manager's memo said 39 of those citations, or 68%, were issued to people in City Council Districts 4, 8 and 7 in Southern Dallas.

The city insists it does not target any area or group for enforcement.

"We look at code violations at properties. We don't profile residents. We don't look at demographics at properties," said Reed.

But Reed acknowledges that the AI cameras will likely capture more violations in Southern Dallas.

"There are more code violations in Southern Dallas than in Northern Dallas. And we attempt, at every single instance, we attempt voluntary compliance. The goal is never citations," Reed said.

"My primary concern is that this could end up being inadvertently a tax on the poor," said City Councilmember Chad West.

West recently expressed concern that the cameras may end up punishing people in under-resourced Southern Dallas neighborhoods, capturing more violations faster than human inspectors.

In just four months, city records show the cameras spotted potential violations at 21,000 addresses. NBC 5 Investigates mapped those locations and found the heaviest concentration in southern Dallas ZIP codes.

"It does allow us to be more efficient and gather data more quickly. And I believe that the courtesy notice is a benefit to the residents who receive them," Reed said.

Reed said the notices are a benefit because they give people time to fix things without a citation.

The city said most homeowners make voluntary repairs after getting a courtesy notice.

Morrison said the notice panicked her so much that, despite a medical condition, she spent time cleaning her yard in 100-degree heat.

She was uncertain what the city considered to be litter in the photo and feared an inspector would show up soon. She said she worries about the notices she describes as "ominous" warnings and the citations and whether they will ultimately cost people money in communities that can't afford them.

"It's going to be the people who are going to hurt the most by it," Morrison said.

Code Compliance told NBC 5 Investigates it's likely the cameras will photograph every residential property in the city once a month on bulk trash pickup days.

The city said the images will be retained for one year but insists the system does not connect to any law enforcement database and that faces and license plates in photos are blurred.

Councilmember West recently proposed pulling funding for the camera program but agreed to withdraw that request after the city manager's office agreed to brief a council committee on the issue.

That meeting is now scheduled for October.