The U.S. Park Police has entered a $343,000 lease for mobile surveillance camera equipment from Utah-based LiveView Technologies (LVT), federal contract records show, a procurement that comes amid heightened attention to security at the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Contract details and timeline
The Department of the Interior awarded the fully obligated lease on Sept. 14. The contract runs through the end of February. The public records do not specify how many camera trailers are covered or the precise locations where the leased units have been deployed.
- Vendor: LiveView Technologies (LVT)
- Amount: $343,000 (lease)
- Award date: Sept. 14
- Contract end: End of February
Where cameras may be located — and what they can do
Media reporting has identified LVT-mounted cameras at Memorial Circle and near statues by the Arlington Memorial Bridge, and reported Park Police placed cameras at the reflecting pool earlier this summer. The Guardian has not independently verified those locations, and the contract records do not identify placement.
LVT’s primary product is a towable camera trailer that can be set up without permanent wiring. The company announced it will add a new "thermal-plus-visual" camera from Axis Communications intended to detect people in low-light and adverse conditions, with shipments expected in December. The trailers run software LVT says can flag loitering and read license plates; LVT has said it "do[es] not actively apply facial recognition" and that its "customers own their data."
"We are watching very closely, and security cameras have been installed," the president posted on Truth Social, adding that anyone who vandalized the newly refilled pool would "GO TO JAIL."
Local context and concerns
For Washington residents and visitors, the procurement raises practical and civic questions. Mobile camera trailers are designed to be visible and relocatable, and the lease covers a period that spans the fall and winter months when many public events and commemorations occur on the Mall. The connection between LVT and other federal customers — the company also supplies equipment to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to contract records — has prompted scrutiny about how surveillance technology is used and who controls the resulting data.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Vendor | LiveView Technologies (Utah) |
| Contract type | Lease |
| Amount | $343,000 |
| Award date | Sept. 14 |
| Contract through | End of February |
Officials in the Department of the Interior and the Park Police did not specify in the records whether the leased trailers are the same equipment described in public statements about increased security at the reflecting pool. Local advocates, civil liberties groups and some members of the public frequently press for clear rules on surveillance in public parkland — including what technologies are used, how long footage is retained, and who can access it.
As the lease period continues, Washington residents can expect ongoing discussions about public-safety trade-offs on the Mall and how surveillance tools are deployed in shared civic spaces.
