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Washington Plans Unprecedented Camera Network
REUTERS ^ | February 13, 2002 08:10 AM ET | Reuters

Posted on 02/13/2002 6:15:46 AM PST by goldylight

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington police are building what will be the nation's biggest network of surveillance cameras to monitor shopping areas, streets, monuments and other public places in the U.S. capital, a move that worries civil liberties groups, The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

The system would eventually include hundreds of cameras, linking existing devices in Metro mass transit stations, public schools and traffic intersections to new digital cameras mounted to watch over neighborhoods and shopping districts, the Journal said.

"In the context of Sept. 11, we have no choice but to accept greater use of this technology," Stephen Gaffigan, the head of the police department project, told the Journal.

He said city officials had studied the British surveillance system, which has more than 2 million cameras throughout the country, and were "intrigued by that model."

One of the first uses of police surveillance cameras in Washington was April 2000, when authorities set up a network to monitor protests during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the newspaper said.

On Tuesday morning, in response to the latest terror alert issued by the Justice Department, police activated a $7 million command center that was first used on Sept. 11. The command center, which has dozens of video stations for monitoring cameras, will remain in use until federal officials end the alert, the Journal reported.

Cameras installed by the police have been programmed to scan public areas automatically, and officers can take over manual control if they want to examine something more closely.

The system currently does not permit an automated match between a face in the crowd and a computerized photo of a suspect, the Journal said. Gaffigan said officials were looking at the technology but had not decided whether to use it.

Eventually, images will be viewable on computers already installed in most of the city's 1,000 squad cars, the Journal said.

The Journal said the plans for Washington went far beyond what was in use in other U.S. cities, a development that worries civil liberties advocates.

Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, noted there were few legal restrictions of video surveillance of public streets. But he said that by setting up a "central point of surveillance," it becomes likely that "the cameras will be more frequently used and more frequently abused."

"You are building in a surveillance infrastructure, and how it's used now is not likely how it's going to be used two years from now or five years from now," he told the Journal.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: billofrights; biometrics; privacylist
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To: boris
Check out Wearcam. It is mostly about "wearable" computers, but it also has a part about turning the tables on surveillance camera operators at: wearcam.org/maybecamera.htm

Also see: http://eyetap.org/wearcam/netcam_privacy_issues/

101 posted on 02/13/2002 7:16:05 AM PST by the
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To: Rebelbase
The PRISONER-- in our own country.
102 posted on 02/13/2002 7:16:35 AM PST by It'salmosttolate
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To: Loopy
...then let me add that your standards are skewed.
103 posted on 02/13/2002 7:17:19 AM PST by KirklandJunction
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To: freeeee
No, I'm not making this up. I saw the article here on FR, but unfortunately I didn't save it.

I can't keep track of all the posts either.
I have a book on body language. It does tell what's going on inside a person pretty well. It's based on conditioned responce.
Some people just walk fast, though. It shows they're busy and/or their mind is occupied.
Crossing arms shows defensiveness.
People may have something on their mind other than crime, but the body movements would be similar. It's just nerviousness. It happens in life all the time.
Pretty scary for the innocent citizen, aye?.

104 posted on 02/13/2002 7:19:37 AM PST by concerned about politics
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To: goldylight
The day that would never come . . . came.
105 posted on 02/13/2002 7:20:55 AM PST by Flyer
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To: freeeee
I remember that article too... How frightening.
106 posted on 02/13/2002 7:21:05 AM PST by technochick99
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To: Beelzebubba
"The shape of things to come..."

It is NOT. (Did your locality follow the District Of Chaos in that total ban on handguns that D.C. did years ago?)

Face it, people inside Washington are paranoid about terrorism - because it and Manhattan, Blue Nation's political and cultural/financial capitals, are the only places bin Laden's ilk seems much interested in. They know that, if bin Laden uses some sort of "dirty nuke" tomorrow, his target won't be Asheboro, North Carolina - but will be them.

Add to that the fact that D.C.'s demographics are so different from those of even most of Blue Nation - much less Red Nation - and that it has no real economy but the feral government, and you fast see why it's no "vanguard" for localities across the U.S.

107 posted on 02/13/2002 7:22:36 AM PST by glc1173@aol.com
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To: concerned about politics
Pretty scary for the innocent citizen, aye?

Downright hopeless.

Even given the responses on this thread, I don't think people in general understand the implications of this.

Freedom is over.

108 posted on 02/13/2002 7:23:07 AM PST by freeeee
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To: boris
I think that is brilliant.....regardless of the profitability of it...and I am an avowed Captitalist!

I am thinking right now of a 0cents Stamp to "ridicule" this concept...not yours, theirs!

109 posted on 02/13/2002 7:23:20 AM PST by Seeking the truth
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To: KirklandJunction
Following 9-11, I spent two to three days on FR, begging, pleading with people here to demand that we actually declare war, on Islamic Fundamentalism, if need be. My reasons were the same as yours, but also much more. By a declaration of war, the people have a right to expect a clear cut end. There is accountability. There is also a specific time for cessation of any of these "temporary security measures". What did I get for my trouble? A bunch of the same crap that I was shoveling above. No need. Wiley W, he's got it all figured out. All were RNC talking points and ALL turned out to be totally bogus. Remember "the insurance policies won't pay off"? Or who could forget, "well if we declared war then we'd have to treat the prisoners under the geneva convention"? Or the infamous "Who're we going to declare war against."

No, KJ, I've been fighting this battle at least as long as you. It has gotten nowhere. The sheep do not respond to logic or rational thought. My thoughts today were to respond in the way of reductio ad absurdum. That you and others fell for it shows only that we are well and truly gone. Because you know as well as I that there are people, right here on FR, who could have easily posted the same inanities as I did.What I wrote in mockery is daily posted here seriously.

110 posted on 02/13/2002 7:27:35 AM PST by Loopy
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To: concerned about politics; Rebelbase
Time Machine? Are you sure you don't mean H.G. Welles?
111 posted on 02/13/2002 7:28:39 AM PST by Tennessee_Bob
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To: Flyer
The day that would never come . . . came.

Yeah, "It Can't Happen Here...." Right.

112 posted on 02/13/2002 7:28:42 AM PST by freeeee
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To: bulldawg; Darth Sidious
Yes, I too wonder if there's some connection between this plan and the traffic cameras that have been operating in D.C. for the last year or so (there's another page-one article on those traffic cameras in today's Washington Times.) The original contractor for the traffic cameras was Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor. The contract has been taken over by Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), a firm which bought a lot of Lockheed's operations, and I wonder about its possible connections.

The traffic cameras are very unpopular here. I find it hard to believe they raise revenue on balance (I have become much more reluctant to drive into D.C. since they were installed, as I suspect many other people have as well, which means less sales -- and less tax revenue -- in D.C.). And yet the D.C. government seems determined to maintain the program.

113 posted on 02/13/2002 7:28:59 AM PST by aristeides
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To: aristeides
Interesting that you brought up ACS. There was an article posted here, a week ago that mentioned them. Not So Candid Camera. I know this company well.
114 posted on 02/13/2002 7:37:19 AM PST by SpottedBeaver
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To: Loopy
"Who're we going to declare war against."

But we still can't name a country, so far. We'll be declaring a war on a concept, a religious death cult.
There's a few in Iran, a few in Pakastan, even a few right here in America.

I agreed with a time limit on the "protections" though. The no end deal didn't work for me either. I pictured Clinton with this type of power!

I agree they should be telling us more, but the masses may not be as strong. Panic is not the answer either.
This truely is a different type of "war."

115 posted on 02/13/2002 7:39:36 AM PST by concerned about politics
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To: Tennessee_Bob
Yeah, my bad. I confessed somewhere around #85+ -
116 posted on 02/13/2002 7:41:15 AM PST by Rebelbase
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To: aristeides
, which means less sales -- and less tax revenue -- in D.C.). And yet the D.C. government

But the differece is made up by fines paid.
One second too late going through that light brings in the cash.
Some places have even shortened the time for the yellow light to bring in more money. They got caught here doing that. Nothing happened to stop them, though.

117 posted on 02/13/2002 7:43:51 AM PST by concerned about politics
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To: Rebelbase
Well, good. Confession is good for the soul. So, what kind of penance are you going to be doing??
118 posted on 02/13/2002 7:45:34 AM PST by Tennessee_Bob
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To: dead
Won't work Arlo.

They'll drag away the first 3 and give them long terms, there won't be a 4th much less 50.

119 posted on 02/13/2002 7:49:14 AM PST by Travis McGee
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To: dead
Sounds like they're preparing for something they know about that we're just now figuring out. Million Man/Patriot Marches on Washington.
120 posted on 02/13/2002 7:49:40 AM PST by Zon
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