It isn't hard to exercise without fancy gym equipment. Every result you want from equipment can be done with body weight and minimal equipment you can make yourself.
They probably had some repeated instances of stealing and thought a $2000 security camera setup is cheaper than hiring more staff. I’m assuming they also can’t admit they have an issue with thieves because it could make them look bad?
A good thing to remember when they do things for "safety and security" is that they aren't talking about your safety and security. This is just a liability issue they are trying to avoid while pretending it's for your benefit.
This will 100% not end well. I think we've yet to see even hardened financial / data collection systems be hack-proof. A random gym is not going to safeguard that data and/or monitor it responsibly.