introduction guidelines for public video surveillance
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INTRODUCTION – GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
Excerpt from “The Constitution Project”
Within days of the July 2005 bombings on London’s subway and bus system, authorities had identified the bombers, retraced their paths, and detained suspected accomplices thanks in part to footage from London’s elaborate public video surveillance system. While the cameras did not prevent the attacks, their value in the subsequent investigation has reinvigorated movements, both in the United States and elsewhere, to develop similar systems. From Washington, D.C. to Paris, France to Cicero, Illinois, local officials are expressing renewed interest in video surveillance. And this surveillance is a far cry from the simple closed-‐circuit camera systems employed by law enforcement agencies in the past. Officials concerned about terrorist and other serious threats are seeking public video surveillance systems that are pervasive, intelligent, and outfitted with the latest technologies.
The potential of video surveillance has generated interest among state and local law enforcement officials, who see video surveillance as a cost-‐effective and unobtrusive means of combating serious threats to public safety. Many civil libertarians and privacy advocates, in contrast, believe that pervasive government surveillance, which will inevitably capture the activity of law-‐abiding people, is antithetical to the ideals of a society that values individual rights, autonomy, and freedom from government intrusion. Reconciliation of these important concerns demands the serious attention of citizens, lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, and eventually the courts.
As we use the term here, a “public video surveillance system” is a camera network administered by or for law enforcement to monitor activities in a public place or places. At its simplest, it is nothing more than a small network of cameras that allows an officer to quickly scan current activity in an area. At its most complex, such a surveillance system can include hundreds or thousands of cameras—equipped with technologies like high resolution and magnification, motion detection, infrared vision, and automated identification—all linked to a powerful network capable of automated tracking, archiving, and identifying suspect behavior. What was once the grist of science fiction novels is quickly becoming the reality of modern law enforcement. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Peterson: Summer School English 2013 “Guidelines for Public Video Surveillance Guidelines” Reading Comprehension and Discussion Questions
Directions:
• After reading “Guidelines for Public Video Surveillance Guidelines,” answer each of the following questions to the best of your ability.
• Be sure to use complete sentences and examples from the text to support your answers for full credit.
• Answer the questions in your notebook and leave space to add notes based on our discussion.
1. What were the cameras used as after the 2005 bombings in London? 2. What changed throughout the world after the bombings? 3. What are the two arguments made in paragraph two? Explain. 4. What is a “public video surveillance system”?