March 16, 2005

Street Cameras Update

In continuing with the Big Brother theme for the past couple of days, I have a few more things related to the Nashville surveillance camera story.

Yesterday morning I faxed a letter to Mayor Bill Purcell's office along with emailing all 40 members of the Metro City Council. Up until this time, I have received zero response in relation to my concerns (not even any form responses).

I have three primary questions that should be answered:

-How is it that the Police Chief has the power to put in place surveillance cameras on the streets without seeking permission from the Metro City Council first?

-Has the Police Chief done any research to see if cameras do in fact deter crime? I point you to this article from the wonderful British who have taken a nose dive into the world of Orwell by being the most "watched" citizenry in the world.

-Does this not concern anyone when it comes to making Nashville look more like Oceania from 1984 than being the friendly city that it has always been known for?

I am emailing these questions to the entire City Council this afternoon. I hope that others will do the same.

For a list of email addresses of the Metro City Council and Mayor, click here.

Update: I just got a response from a one Metro Councilperson. I will keep their identity hidden as I didn't ask permission to reveal their name:

Blake These camera are to be in open areas. We have camera now that the news people use and camera that monitor roads for traffic conditions.

These camera are to be in areas of large numbers of people .

We have camera in a number of areas most shopping centers , Hospitals have camera for security.

This is a part of life in today's world.
Many folks have camera around their homes for security.

Yep...just part of life in today's world...might as well add a few more.

Also notice that all of the examples (minus the traffic cameras which are publically accessible and only show traffic) are cameras utilized by private businesses and private citizens on private property.

Even more: My second email seems to have done better as far as responses go. Unfortunately, it seems that most of them support the cameras.

Some excerpts from more Council members' emails:

Mr. Wylie, You should direct your concerns to members of the Public Safety Committee for examination within the council, but Council approval is not required to enact this practice. This is a controversial issue that offends some people and satisfies others, and reports conflict over the effectiveness of camera use. Personally, I am not worried about surveillance of this sort since if it keeps our streets safe. I am comfortable with Chief Serpas’s decision at this time.

Another:

I think we are all concerned about interfering excessively with people’s liberty; however, there are certain parts of town plagued by vandalism and crime. If these cameras can be used to improve the quality of life in those areas without undue interference, I think we should give them a try. Perhaps, some parameters on use in conjunction with some measures of success should be put in place. I will discuss these issues with the Police Department.

I have cc’ed Chief Serpas on this e-mail and will forward any response he sends to me.

I'll post more responses as I get them.

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