Camera project provokes concerns (Miami surveillance)

[seafan]

Camera project provokes concerns

BY DAVID OVALLE
March 27, 2006

The stark images of suicide bombers in London last year raised the profile of police-run, round-the-clock surveillance systems -- and now Miami wants its own.
Miami police have begun planning installation of a citywide closed-circuit video surveillance system, one that has already raised fierce concerns from civil libertarians and privacy advocates worried about overly intrusive government.
Already entrenched in the United Kingdom, these security systems have gained a following among local officials and law enforcement authorities in New York, Chicago, Baltimore and other cities.
This month, Miami city administrators received a nearly $1 million proposal from a Virginia technology company for an initial system that would include enough portable and fixed cameras to monitor at least one business corridor.

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The American Civil Liberties Union charges that such systems can amount to wasted resources, pushing crime to areas uncovered by cameras, invading privacy and even inviting police voyeurism.
''If we're going to convert the Magic City into the Surveillance City, we'd better have a good payoff,'' said Howard Simon, the ACLU's Florida director, who said the effectiveness of a citywide security system remains unclear.
Though an overall price for the system has not been determined, it would likely be funded by federal dollars through the Department of Homeland Security. The Miami Police Department has not ruled out using city money or other grants.
The initial proposal from the Virginia company, GTSI Corp., has not been accepted yet.

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Miami Police Chief John Timoney said he long opposed such video systems until he heard firsthand from counterparts in London how it helped identify the bombers.
Later, while at a training seminar in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Timoney watched in a police operations center how the system helped police combat violent protesters.
''It was pretty impressive stuff,'' Timoney said. ``It helped convince me more than ever.''
Miami police brass say technology will also curb concerns of voyeurism -- views of residential windows will be blacked out using software.

Nevertheless, the ACLU has its concerns.
Group leaders fear the Big Brother effect, with police ogling women on streets and monitoring reading material.
They also worry about oversight -- who will monitor the monitors? -- and how long digital recordings will be kept under Florida's liberal public records law (police say, like emergency dispatch calls, they would normally be discarded after 90 days unless kept for evidence).
Among the organization's most pressing concerns: There has been scant public debate about the proposed surveillance system.

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14194295.htm

[geomon666]

1. I'm more afraid of the Miami cops then I am of any terrorist.

For real.

[RagingInMiami]

2. Yep

[Billy Burnett]

4. I can't imagine why

:eyes:

[rodeodance]

3. I do not want to see this happen!