FACE-SCANNING DEBATE--CITIES PARALLEL EACH OTHER

Baynews 9 ^ | Aaron Mitchell

[SamBees]

	CITIES PARALLEL EACH OTHER ON FACE-SCANNING DEBATE.

Wednesday, July 25, 2001

Reporter: Aaron Mitchell

The mayor's of Tampa and Virginia Beach are a study in contrasts.

;It;s a complete invasion of privacy;

The Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia left little doubt about her feelings regarding face-scanning technology in an interview with BayNews9.com today. Mayor Meyera Oberndorf;s town is separated by 1,000-miles from Tampa, but both cities are embroiled in an emotional debate over face-scanning its citizens.

Virginia Beach, like Ybor City, is a popular entertainment center for tourists and locals alike, drawing millions of visitors every year. Both cities have surveillance cameras in place to monitor crowds, but only Tampa has installed the face-scanning technology that allows police to match faces against a vast digital database within seconds. But recently, the Virginia Beach Chief of Police, Jake Jacocks, applied for and was awarded a $150,000-dollar state grant to install the face-scanning system. And that;s when the chief and the mayor quickly parted company.

Police scan the sea of faces in Ybor City against a vast database of digital images.

;The media generated hysteria; charged Jacocks as he explained why public acceptance of face-scanning has been slow in coming. ;The newspapers were negative about it before it could be explained;before we could talk with the public; Jacocks said the local chapter of the NAACP has agreed in principle to face-scanning and he;s not sure why people are upset. Jacocks also noted that Virginia Beach would be able to share the technology with seven other cities nearby, creating a kind of ‘network; to catch criminals that visit the popular beachfront area. Jacocks also noted the Virginia Beach Police Department has been ;in touch; with Tampa law enforcement officials as they keep tabs on each other;s progress in implementing the controversial system.

Back in the Mayor;s Office, Oberndorf spelled out her fear and grave concerns surrounding face-scanning tourists and locals. ;We bill ourselves as a family-friendly city;I don;t think we should be spying on them;what if they police think they have a match but it ends up with someone being arrested that shouldn;t have been? What happens when we get sued over something like that? Who;s going to pay for it?; The mayor saw too little gain for far too much risk as she wondered what the technology would ultimately lead to. ;I remember on the 4th of July thinking about this issue;thinking about freedom and liberty;this just isn;t right;

Thirty-six, remotely-controlled cameras are placed strategically throughout Ybor City.

Ultimately, the success or failure of face-scanning technology may boil down to money. Many say that if a city;s tourism industry takes a hit because people are intimidated about being scanned, the high-tech surveillance will stop. Ron Kuhlman, Director of Marketing for the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor;s Bureau says the mayor is right. ;She has a gut feeling about these things;she;s in touch with the people, I agree with her; Kuhlman also recounted reading several letters to the editor of the local newspaper in which many people said they;d never visit the city again if the face-scanning software was installed.

The issue is slated to be voted on by the city council some time next month. Unlike in Tampa, where the mayor can overrule the council, Meyera Oberndorf is but one of eleven votes.

Tampa Mayor Dick Greco went on record yesterday and said he'll order the software keep running even if the city council recommends it be removed. A spokeswoman at the Tampa Convention and Visitor's Bureau refused to comment specifically on face-scanning in Ybor City.

Recently, almost 2,500 Bay News 9 viewers took part in our Viewer Center question which was, "How do you feel about the surveillance cameras?" 45% said the cameras were an invasion of privacy and will not go back to Ybor City. 32% said the cameras don't bother them one way or the other and 22% said the cameras made them feel safer and will visit Ybor City more often.

Click here to read related stories on this subject.

Click here to visit the mayor's home page.

[SamBees]

Big Brother has had ears for a long time, but now he has eyes that recognize human faces.

[dcwusmc]

For sure. Now I have to boycott VA Beach AND Tampa... Oh, well. More money to spend where they RESPECT privacy!

[Balding_Eagle]

I'm not aware of any criminals that have been caught using this technology.

[unixfox]

Isn't it funny how the TAXPAYERS have bought and paid for the city to "watch them" and "make them feel safe".

[SamBees]

I dont think they really expect to catch any criminals. I believe the idea behind face scanning technology is just to simply keep track of people.

In England, there are well over 1 million cameras watching the Citizens of that country. The government there is not looking for criminals. It is tracking the entire population. If a criminal is caught along the way, well thats just an added benefit.