Posted on 08/08/2010 1:09:00 PM PDT by goldendays
With great fanfare, Gov. Martin O'Malley on Wednesday announced his use of your tax dollars to track every move made by Maryland motorists. The Democratic chief executive will spend $2 million in federal grants to double the number of roadside and mobile spy cameras, with the data centrally collected at a "fusion center" accessible to government bureaucrats.ike speed cameras and red-light cameras, Mr. O'Malley's license-plate recognition cameras photograph the plates of passing motorists. Within a matter of seconds, a computer system looks up the vehicle owner's identity and cross-references it against a "wanted" list after recording the time, date and GPS coordinates of the vehicle. All of this information will be stored at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center located in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore. Mr. O'Malley's plan is unique insofar as it allows tracking of persons of interest using cameras located in dozens of local jurisdictions. "We believe it's the first," Maryland State Police spokesman Gregory M. Shipley told The Washington Times. "It's certainly one of the first to network police [agencies] together like this."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
click on the links to the candidates web sites.
I don't see this as anything different that a police officer with a radar gun. They are using technology to enforce the law instead of boots on the ground. I understand this is about raising taxes.
The predator drone example I used was to show technology taking the place of a pilot. I feel it is valid.
I don't see this as spying. The people are on public streets, and all that is being seen are their cars, which are required to be registered. It is "license and registration" asked by technology, not a person.
And what happens when we become England with their police drones in the skies?
Yes, slippery slopes exist. You don’t investigate completely innocent people to catch the bad guys. You don’t track the movements of those who haven’t yet committed any crimes.
This isn’t 1984 or the Minority Report. Sorry, it is a loss of freedom; the freedom of movement.
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