Posted on 08/21/2007 4:46:00 PM PDT by Coleus
Last week Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced a program that, when fully funded, will operate more than 120 public security cameras in his city. The program, known as the "Community Eye" program, is similar to urban sur veillance programs in New York City and London. The Newark Police Department should carefully evaluate these cities' experiences and consider whether cameras will cure Newark's violent-crime woes. Newark's elected officials should assess whether it is wise or useful to encroach upon the private lives of those who live, work and travel in New Jersey's largest city.
It is tempting to believe that new technologies will keep us safe. Security cameras can see into the darkest corners on the darkest nights, and they don't need sleep or overtime pay. We have seen cities, large and small, turn to video surveillance as a panacea to keep our neighborhoods safe, but there is little evidence that these cameras are truly effective in preventing violent crime, and the potential damage done to individual liberty in these communities is immeasurable.
Law enforcement resources are not unlimited. When scarce secu rity dollars are spent on unproven programs, it is often the tried-and- true, boots-on-the-ground policing methods that are cut back. Video surveillance programs can create a false sense of security that actually leaves local citizens less safe than before the cameras were installed.
Some proponents of extensive video surveillance claim that there are lessons to be learned from Lon don's recent encounters with domestic terrorism. But what we have learned is that those events clearly demonstrate the limits of such systems. Those observations should cause Newark residents real concern as they invest in similar technology.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Cameras simply provide forensic evidence for after-the-fact investigations.
In our own cities, history has taught us that there is no substitute for the combination of good community policing, dogged investigations based upon probable cause and reasonable suspicion, and the cooperation of an informed populace.
The article fails to mention that Newark is a sanctuary city for illegal aliens, and as such, cameras will be particularly worthless.
Blacks living in Newark are fooling themselves. Corrupt politicians have no interest in protecting them or their loved ones.
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