Smile: Manhattan is One Big Camera
ACLU interns this summer have been counting the proliferation of cameras taking photos - many by businesses who do so with the approval of law enforcment.
At last count in 1998, the New York Civil Liberties Union found 2,397 cameras used by a wide variety of private businesses and government agencies throughout Manhattan. This time, after canvassing less than a quarter of the borough, the interns so far have spotted more than 4,000. The preliminary total "only provides a glimpse of the magnitude of the problem," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "Nobody has a clue how many there really are."
But aside from sheer numbers, the NYCLU says it's concerned about the increasing use of newer, more powerful digital cameras that - unlike boxy older models - can be controlled remotely and store more images.
It may be hopeless.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to spend up to $250 million to install new surveillance cameras in the city's vast subway system. The New York Police Department also has requested funding for about 400 digital video cameras to help combat robberies and burglaries in busy commercial districts. Police officers already watch live feeds from hundreds of cameras in city housing projects throughout the five boroughs, where "they are a proven deterrent," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
The cameras help police stop crime. They may or may not prevent terrorist attacks. They may drive people to commit crimes in camera-less places, leaving those inhabitants more vulnerable.
Cameras. Bag searches on subways. Metal detectors everywhere. National ID cards in the form of driver's licenses. Who says the terrorists haven't won? And instead of finding Osama, we're losing more lives in Iraq. You can thank the President and the neo-cons for that.
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