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Local Unions Against Public
Surveillance In San Diego County
10
News
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
SAN DIEGO -- Government agencies throughout San Diego
County should stop using surveillance cameras in public places
until the systems are thoroughly evaluated, according to a report
released Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The recommendation was made in a 25-page report by the ACLU,
titled, "Under the Watchful Eye," which examined the
proliferation of surveillance cameras throughout California.
The ACLU argued in the report that government-run video surveillance
systems threaten the public's privacy rights.
"Not only do some of these expenditures border on the absurd,
they come at the expense of proven crime reduction measures, such
as better lighting, foot patrols and community policing, and have
an enormous and negative impact on our civil liberties,"
said Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego
and Imperial Counties.
(Article continues below)
The analysis concluded that cities are moving quickly to install
video surveillance cameras in streets and other communal areas
with little or no public debate, accountability or oversight.
The report's authors also say that government monitors may integrate
facial-recognition and other technologies to develop databases
that track individual behaviors.
ACLU researchers surveyed 131 jurisdictions in California and
found 37 communities with some type of video program.
Of those, none had undertaken a comprehensive evaluation of the
cameras' effectiveness. Eleven police agencies enacted policies
to regulate use of the systems.
Surveillance cameras in San Diego County track activities at
various street corners, trolley stops and special events in San
Diego, El Cajon, National City, Vista and Chula Vista.
Police and city officials told the San Diego Union-Tribune the
cameras are effective in fighting prostitution and identifying
suspects.
"A lot of criminals are bothered by cameras," San Diego
Police Department Sgt. Alan Hayward told the newspaper.
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