The recent approval of security cameras in our city stirred a debate of public safety vs. the citizen privacy. As I blogged earlier, our part of the city will not get any of these cameras, mainly due to the lack of funding. The city applied for 3 million dollars for the cameras, but received only one sixth of that. The cameras will mainly be installed in the downtown area. It will probably take many years for our part of the city to get the cameras.
Watching the recent spikes in crime numbers in the city, I think the cameras are a good tool to deter crimes. They’re sometime also proved very powerful in finding leads to the investigations of the crimes that already happened.
There are however concerns surrounding the use of these cameras. They include maintenance of these cameras and the issue of privacy. “I’m afraid of Big Brother watching” – said Council member Afzali, who later approved the cameras during council votes. Former councilwoman Mary Cook also had concerns. “We do not want to open a door that we are not able to close later,” she said.
It’s true that there have been numerous incidents where the abuses of cameras have been reported. While we should be aware of these abuses and their negative impact on our citizens’ rights, I don’t think we should stop using such an useful tool to maintain public safety in the neighborhood.
What do you all think?
(polls)
Charlene T. Stevenson
The guys at CCTvBoSS are really understanding. They walked me through my concerns and needs. I rented a complete Camera System from them without any attitude. I would recommend that you at least get a quotation from them before you buy your Camera System.