Seeking to thwart crime and keep terrorists and copper thieves away from its aging seaport, Richmond unveiled a squadron of surveillance cameras Wednesday said to be blessed with an unusual intelligence.

The 82 cameras at the port and 34 at crime hot spots can be programmed to recognize certain movements known as exceptions - a crowd gathering, for example, or a person loitering in one spot, falling down, leaving behind a bag or hopping a fence.

An exception triggers an alarm, which prompts a human being - a police officer, dispatcher or port worker - to take a closer look at the footage.

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The technology, which has raised concerns from privacy advocates, is another wrinkle in the recent embrace of surveillance by several Bay Area police agencies. And it's not cheap: Richmond is spending more than $2 million on its anti-crime cameras, which are expected to be up and running within six weeks.

The century-old port, which no longer ships containers but does a steady trade in cars and fuel, obtained a separate $2.5 million homeland security grant for the cameras there, which have been on since March.

"There's no expectation that this will solve the problem by itself," City Manager Bill Lindsay said during an afternoon presentation for the media and security industry representatives. "But it's another arrow in the quiver."

Richmond officials, who contracted with ADT Security Services for the surveillance system, are looking to avoid problems San Francisco has experienced with its 70 or so anti-crime cameras. Those cameras haven't deterred violent crime, according to a preliminary study. And because of infrastructure problems, San Francisco has gotten choppy footage.

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