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City of Laconia approves grant to purchase Solar-powered cameras

City of Laconia approves grant to purchase Solar-powered cameras

A SkyCop camera is seen near the corner of Union Ave. and Fourth Street, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. Photo: Associated Press/AP Photo/George Walker IV


MANCHESTER, N.H.- Laconia’s City Council has voted to approve a grant from the Department of Homeland Security for more than $86,000 from, so police can purchase solar-powered pole cameras.

In a vote of 5 to 1 Monday night officials voted to accept the funding and noted that terrorism preparedness was one of the objectives listed in their application for the funds.

Town officials say they plan use the cameras for surveillance in high-crime areas, during critical or emergency incidents, and overwatch during events like Laconia Motorcycle Week and Pumpkinfest.

During the public comment section of the evening Ken McKay was among those residents questioning the logic in perusing funding for the cameras, as McKay ask why the town cited concerns over terrorism when there hasn’t been a reported act of terrorism in the state in 20 years.

Police Chief Matt Canfield addressed concerns and was quick to note that these are not Flock cameras, they don’t record license plates, nor are they cloud based. Canfield ended up explaining how the information recorded by the cameras is stored on the device and does not get uploaded to the cloud.

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