The police department has been experimenting with a public place camera at 14th and O Street, monitoring the street and sidewalks in this area. The camera (actually, it's a pair) is on a 36 hour recording loop, with the idea that this strikes a balance between the police desire to capture evidence in the event of a crime on the one hand, and the discomfort some people have with government recording them on the other hand.
While many police agencies around the world have implemented camera monitoring of some public places, often reporting significant reductions in crime, I have a little discomfort with the concept. Simply put, I am concerned over the extent to which our daily lives are being cataloged by all manner of electronic gizmos and databases. I'm not sure there is much we can do about it, since most of this is done by non-governmental entitites. Our own desire to use such things as debit cards and smartphones is apparently greater than our concern that the bank and the cell phone provider have data about where we've been as a result.
It is noteworthy that privately-owned cameras are plentiful in such places as retail stores, parking lots, shopping malls, parking garages, a growing number of apartment complexes, office buildings, and the like. It is also worth noting that government-owned cameras are also commonly operating at such places as schools, public transportation facilities, and university campuses. Private enterprise is already operating several public place cameras in the downtown area. Nevertheless, when the police decide to install cameras in public places, I think it is beneficial to do so after some public discussion, and a consideration of input from citizens. Because of this, the police department's cameras have gone dark until this discussion can take place a bit more broadly in the community.
If Lincoln is going to have any public place camera monitoring by the police, 14th and O Street is the logical choice, because it is simply the most troublesome location in the city. This is due to the density of bars and the combination of testosterone and alcohol that converges there--espeically on weekend nights as bar break approaches. So far this year, there have been 122 assaults reported to LPD that occurred within 1/2 block of the intersection--basically the effective range of the camera to potentially capture useful evidence outdoors. There is no other place in Lincoln that comes close to that concentration.
This is a good discussion to have, and I look forward to the dialog.
Friday, December 28, 2012
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10 comments:
I think anything people do in a public place is fair game when it comes to cameras (government or private). Honesty is one of the most important traits a person can have, and being "on camera" is one more way to help people remain that way. People are often tempted to do things they know are not "right", and if they think they can "get away with it" the temptation is that much harder to resist. It might be as trivial as a child skipping school and going to a movie, or it might be a bank robbery, but if people know they cannot get away without being identified, it will cause them to think twice about it at the very least. If they go ahead and do it anyway, and they are "caught" by the camera, so be it.
As I see it the camera helps from two aspects: it acts as a deterrent to some degree, and it is evidence for prosectution when the deterrent doesn't work.
The one thing that is important is, that for the deterrent effect to work, people need to know the cameras are there.
An article in the Journal Star quoted Police Chief Peschong as saying "The department doesn’t have the resources to have someone monitor the cameras in real-time," but the same article reports that the cameras can pivot and zoom. Why are these features necessary if the cameras aren't being monitored in real time?
http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/downtown-police-cameras-on-pause-for-now/article_6c0ab10f-a0b9-5d25-a229-66f802a4f688.html
11:17,
So you can orient the camera in different directions. Also, although LPD can't monitor these cameras continuously, a shift commander back at HQ could move the camera to capture an incident based on the radio transmissions he or she is hearing.
I have no worries. Ever since you were Police Chief and the same with Chief Peschong, LPD has been one of the most transparent PDs in the nation. I've been in Chicago and have seen those cameras in many places with the blue strobes on top... being in Chicago, that makes it a little interesting but here in Lincoln, no big deal.
The one thing, though, that does make me wonder are the cameras that can read license plates on cruisers... haven't heard much about how the department uses the information recorded and stored on those. Otherwise, if you're out in public and don't have anything to hide, then what to you have to be afraid of??? That's my two cents anyways~
373aons8oYou could follow up this post with a map of the assault incidents in that area, just to help readers visualize things a little better.
With the city already having cameras at every major intersection, I don't think this is a responsible use of public dollars. Surely the dollars for these new toys for your officers to play with could be used elsewhere.
Sounds a lot more high tech than the camera I use.
ARRRRG!!!!
My Dad was a huge technophile, particularly with audio and photography. I grew up listening to the early Stereophonic records of Al Hirt, Dave Brubeck, Pete Fountain, Louis Armstong, and the Tiajuana Brass. His Wollensak 3M reel-to-reel tap recorder is etched in my mind. But of all his gadgets, the ones that last most strongly in my mind are the succession of Poloroid Land cameras he acquired, beginning with the Model, and ending with the SX-70. I have a box full of fading memories (quite literally), and your post brought back the smell of the fixative, which came in the film pack, and was applied after separating the print. Anyone else remember swiping those Poloroids and then waving them in the air to dry?
Oh, yes, I remember the Polaroids with the 'instant' pics. Tom, Do you remember the 'flash cubes'? Whoa!
Well, this individual comes from quite a family, doesn't he?
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