Big Brother is alive and well, and he will be surveiling in Lafayette:
By month's end, small, dome-covered cameras mounted on light posts could begin monitoring activity along three blocks of Second Street in downtown Lafayette.
The 13 cameras -- stretching from Sgt. Preston's to the bus transfer station at Riehle Plaza -- are the first phase of a larger camera project that Lafayette Police Chief Don Roush has wanted to see in place for the past few years.
"In the world today, where technology is so prevalent, cameras in a downtown business district are not unreasonable," Roush said. "They provide a safer environment for residents. ... The whole tenet behind them is public safety."
The cameras will be "passive record," meaning no one will be assigned to constantly monitor them. But video footage will play in real-time at the Lafayette Police Department.
Yes, yes, I know, we don't have an expectation of privacy in a public place. But I still get a creepy whiff of incipient totalitarian malevolence when I read stories like this. Especially disturbing are the quotes from ordinary citizens who seem downright pleased that their safety is being so well taken care of. "You already see cops out here sometimes anyway, watching us," Ellett said, nodding toward a Lafayette police officer and squad car in the parking lot. "Cameras ain't no different."
Comments
My office is at the corner of 2nd just past Riehle plaza. I'm gonna be famous!
The place does get a little sketchy at times, especially at night. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other on this one. Don Roush is a stand up guy; but I know the concern is with: a) those who come after (and the addition of more & more cameras); and b) his subordinates.
I'd actually feel a little better about the process if the feed from cameras monitoring public places were accessible to the public as like webcam or something. I think disparity of information as between government & citizen bothers me more than government possession of information at all.
If we live in the jungle, then maybe we should dress as if in a jungle - camaflouge our identity. Hey they are only cameras looking at the reflected light from an object. I am sure there is a way to place reflective material that would hinder cameras. Similar to a polarizing filter for cameras, just reverse the optics. Who knows.
What would be the difference between the camera and a uniformed policeman standing at the corner and observing everything that goes on there? If anything, the camera seems less obtrusive.
What creeps me out is when a drug company, for example, keeps track of what I'm buying when I fill a prescription and then sends something in the mail asking if I've considered its product. Or when Amazon suggests books similar to the ones I've ordered from it.
The difference is that the camera can store everything for later recall and use, which is also what makes the fact that it's less intrusive troublesome rather than comforting.