Lafayette is among the growing list of cities thinking about putting cameras in public places as a deterrent to crime and aid in crime solving. Those of us who worry about such things are increasingly seen as cranks. As even Fran Quigley of the Indiana ACLU notes:
. . . courts have consistently held that cameras taping acts in public places cannot be challenged because residents do not have an expectation of privacy in such settings.
"Obviously, it's a different story if cameras are placed where filming can occur in private homes," Quigley said.
But one step leads to another, and the next step is worth thinking about:
Although the SkySeer is not yet capable of spying into windows, some critics are uneasy about eyes in the sky monitoring daily life.
"A helicopter can be seen and heard and one can make behaviour choices based on that," said Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. "Do we really want to live in a society where our backyard barbecues will be open to police scrutiny?"
And the police commander's remarks about why we shouldn't really worry about all this aren't exactly comforting:
Police say the concerns are unwarranted because everybody is already under surveillance.
"You shouldn't be worried about being spied on by your government," said Commander Heal. "These days you can't go anywhere without a camera watching you, whether you're in a grocery store or walking down the street."
