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Well, it is all being done for our safety. from: http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2006/12/06/news/local/doc4575161ff3a91237138467.- - txt Police get assist from eyes in the sky By Tory Brecht | Wednesday, December 6, 2006 12:47 AM CST | Its technological eyes will get keener and more numerous as the Davenport Police Department expands its neighborhood camera surveillance plan, according to Chief Mike Bladel. An undisclosed number of portable and mobile cameras soon will supplement a pair of operational fixed-site surveillance cameras. The new cameras then will be hooked into a citywide wireless network allowing police to view live streaming video from their squad cars. In addition, the department will begin recording its captured video, allowing it to use as evidence to prosecute crimes. “We want to be adaptable enough to respond to changing crime patterns,” Bladel told the city council’s committee-of-the-whole Monday. “Cameras, I’d like to warn you, are not a silver bullet. However, they can aid our police work.” Already, cameras mounted on the Heritage high-rise building on West 3rd Street and in the 400 block of Harrison Street have assisted in making arrests for prostitution, public consumption of alcohol and loitering, Bladel said. As technology improves, so does law enforcement’s ability to utilize it to crack down on crime, Bladel said. The chief was careful not to reveal too much, responding to Alderman Keith Meyer’s question about whether the camera on the Heritage building could zoom in on the face of someone walking on the Centennial Bridge: “We really don’t want to demonstrate to the public our full capabilities, but, yes, it would be our goal to identify people from a long distance, and that is an achievable goal.” Several aldermen said they had mixed feelings, with concerns about “Big Brother” warring with the clearly demonstrated ability of the technology to help combat street crime. “I know there are concerns from the public about the ‘Big Brother’ syndrome,” said Alderman Bill Lynn, 5th Ward. Bladel asked aldermen to think about the number of stores and businesses that videotape customers and the ubiquity of cell phones with video and digital cameras on them. “This technology is not going to go away,” he said. “We have to embrace it and hold each other accountable to use it in a responsible manner. The reality is, with the police department, public oversight is there. The council has never failed to hold me accountable to them.” The chief noted all the camera work thus far has been accomplished with no consulting fees and using only around $10,000 of a $100,000 neighborhood camera enforcement budget. The department is partnering with the Raytheon Company for a six-month trial of the wireless network, which expires in February, and cooperating with the Iowa Department of Transportation on other infrastructure needs for cameras. Once the Raytheon pilot program ends, the wireless network would have to be funded through the police department’s regular budget. “We’re doing it right, but it takes time,” Bladel said. “We’re pushing this as fast as we can, but we’re doing it systematically, which will save money in the long run.” Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht  qctimes.com. Camera types The Davenport Police Department soon will be using three types of surveillance cameras. They are: Fixed — Camera is expected to stay in a location for an extended period of time, often bolted down. Mobile — Camera can be moved relatively quickly and placed covertly, typically in targeted neighborhoods. Usually is left in place for a brief period of time. Portable — Camera can be moved immediately and may be a visible deterrent. |
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Replying to: vcheng (Mar 10, 2009 11:22 am) OBD could be used for fishing expeditions by a socialist/marxist govt, say for measuring your carbon footprint, or simply asking folks to explain their movements. When a citizen travels too much. or in places that don't fit the "Guidelines" for one's age, occupation, income level, sex, ethnicity, etc., then a citizen will have to explain in writing why they violated the Guidelines. Three violations of the Guidelines will cause drivers license revocation for one year. Rationale for "Guidelines" will be same as for upcoming health plan "Guidelines. It is for the overall good of society. Law breaker speeders will continue to rant about photo radar while the regime puts in Orwell obd-gps to track their movements. Ahhh, but the gps system will be sold to the swooning majority just like sales of the past in 2008. Think of con artists such as music man, elmer gantry and jim baker.
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Mar 10, 2009 12:01 pm) |
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The reasons for an apparent lack of a general outcry have been alluded to some of my previous links. The policy appears to be to build up the infrastructure first, and then implement enforcement in steps, starting with the safety argument that is hard to resist (the old "how to boil a frog" scenario). Speed and Red light Cameras are indeed Step 1. Let's see what happened in Massachussetts: from: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/12/15/brookline_war- - - - y_of_surveillance_cameras/ Brookline wary of surveillance cameras Residents resist installation push By Michael Levenson Globe Staff / December 15, 2008 Even as eight other cities and towns across Greater Boston prepare to more than double, to 183, the number of security cameras monitoring their streets, Brookline is threatening to reject the cameras, as town officials confront a brewing rebellion of residents decrying the rise of a "surveillance society." A rejection would be unusual. Hundreds of cities and towns across the country - from Liberty, Kan., (population 95) to New York - have installed surveillance cameras funded by the US Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's technology and liberty program, said the city council in Washington, D.C., recently barred its mayor and police chief from accepting a federal grant to install the cameras. But he said he did not know of any other municipality in the country that had taken such a step. In considering a rejection of the cameras, Brookline is thrusting itself into a roiling international debate over the merits of surveillance cameras and the limits of privacy in public places. On one side are law enforcement officials who say the cameras can help them keep an eye on potential targets of terrorism, manage traffic during an emergency, and investigate street crime. On the other side are civil liberties groups and some residents who say the cameras could also be used to follow people going about their daily lives, even zooming in to see what books they are reading. "The overarching concern is what kind of society are we creating, where general police surveillance cameras are in operation," said Sarah Wunsch, an attorney for the ACLU. "You cannot assume that we will always be a free society, and we are putting the structures in place that would allow a very different United States of America from the one we have lived in." Wunsch, a Brookline resident, scoffed at the notion of the cameras' use as a traffic management tool during an emergency. "The people who live in town laugh at that because the town can't prevent gridlock at rush hour," she said. "To say these cameras are going to help traffic during an evacuation is, quite frankly, ludicrous. Using cameras for that purpose, most people think, is crazy." Brookline Police Chief Daniel C. O'Leary said the cameras could help manage traffic and investigate crime. "It's a valuable tool that I don't want to lose, and I think the value goes beyond just managing an evacuation," he said. "There are everyday uses that a lot of people could benefit from." He has proposed installing 12 cameras on the arms of traffic lights on Beacon Street, Route 9, and Longwood Avenue, among other locations. Police would monitor the cameras at headquarters and install a screen in the lobby to allow the public to view what the cameras are recording, he said. Footage would be stored for 30 days before it is automatically erased. Continued...
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Replying to: vcheng (Mar 10, 2009 1:15 pm) from: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/12/15/brookline_war- - - y_of_surveillance_cameras/?page=2 Page 2 of 2 --Even so, Nancy Daly, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said she is worried about the potential for abuse. She cited an incident in 2004, when gruesome footage of a suicide captured by a police camera in a Bronx housing project was leaked to a website featuring violent videos. "This is pretty controversial here," she said. "We all have great respect for the chief, so I think people are reluctant to go against him on something he wants. But there are some serious issues involved here, so I think it's still up in the air." After two contentious hearings during which about 40 residents testified in opposition to the cameras, Daly said she is "leaning against" approval of the cameras and believes the board could reject them. A vote is scheduled for Jan. 6. The first batch of cameras in Greater Boston went up on roads, bridges, and buildings just before to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, after nine cities and towns received a $4.6 million grant from the Homeland Security Department. Boston installed 44 cameras, Chelsea 27, Everett 10, and Revere seven. Now, under the second phase of the program, Boston is to receive by spring 30 additional cameras, Chelsea an additional nine, Everett three more, and Revere nine more. In addition, Cambridge is to receive eight cameras, Quincy eight, Winthrop nine, Somerville seven, and Brookline its 12. The bulb-shaped Bosch IP cameras can tilt, zoom, and pan 360 degrees. One community is allowed to view scenes from another's network when it obtains permission from that community's police. In communities other than Brookline, the cameras were installed quietly and without a vote. "There was no debate in Boston," said Robert P. Dunford, superintendent in chief of police in Boston. "Obviously, there are some people who look at it as an invasion of privacy, but we're not looking at anything that's not already public." Boston's cameras, he said, monitor traffic for the Transportation Department in City Hall. An officer at headquarters also monitors the cameras 16 hours a day, and police have used the footage to investigate several shootings, he said. The city is now looking at ways to make its cameras swivel in the direction of shootings recorded by the acoustic gunshot detection system. "They've been very useful," said Brian A. Kyes, chief of police in Chelsea, which has used its cameras to investigate bank robberies, car accidents and shootings. "We're able to go back into the archive and capture some pertinent information for our investigation." "This is some of the price all of us to have pay for living in a free society, but a threatened society," said David B. Goldstein, Winthrop's police chief, who said his cameras will monitor Logan Airport, the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant, and the Belle Isle bridge. Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson globe.com. © Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company. |
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