Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Public Transit Becomes Another Tool for Total Government Surveillance

Last week Style Weekly's Brad Kutner reported that the system's 26 stops will have around four security cameras each-"Making for more than 100 new surveillance devices on the roughly 7.5-mile stretch."

Moreover: "These stationary cameras will always be on, day and night, and their live feeds will be viewable from 911 headquarters, through the city's Department of Emergency Communications, as well as at GRTC's radio room." The Pulse buses also come with several surveillance cameras.

Responding immediately to a need suggests the cameras will not only operate around the clock, but be monitored around the clock as well.

True, people have become accustomed to surveillance cameras.

Even setting aside the concern about creeping Big Brotherism, there's another reason to question the cameras: Will they do any good?

British officials have spent hundreds of millions of pounds to install more than 50,000 security cameras monitored by the police.

Richmond officials didn't have much choice about installing the cameras; they were required as part of the roughly $25 million in federal funding the city received to build the Pulse.

http://reason.com/archives/2018/04/23/public-transit-becomes-another-tool-for 

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