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Crowdsourcing Big Brother In Lancaster, PA

Posted by timothy on from the nerd-campers-running-amok-at-the-market dept.

sehlat writes "From the Los Angeles Times comes word that in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 165 public surveillance cameras are being set up to be monitored by a 'non profit coalition' of volunteers. The usual suspects, including 'the innocent have nothing to fear' are being trotted out to justify this, and the following quote at the end of the article deserves mention: 'But Jack Bauer, owner of the city's largest beer and soft drink distributor, calls the network "a great thing." His store hasn't been robbed, he said, since four cameras went up nearby. "There's nothing wrong with instilling fear," he said.'"

3 of 440 comments (clear)

  1. Lived here for years... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    So strange to see my hometown on the front page of Slashdot...

    The Los Angeles Times article states:

    "Perhaps most surprising, the near-saturation surveillance of a community that saw four murders last year has sparked little public debate about whether the benefits for law enforcement outweigh the loss of privacy."

    I've lived in Lancaster for years and haven't heard a thing about this. I just searched our local newspaper with no results.

    There's no public debate because as far as I know this is the first time it's even been mentioned. I saw the cameras go up, now I know the story behind them... thanks to a random mention on a tech news site linking an article from a newspaper on the other side of the country.

  2. I LIVE in Lancaster and I didn't know! by Kaitiff · · Score: 5, Informative

    I LIVE in Lancaster, and I had no idea! They said 'the people didn't object' hell I didn't even KNOW! This is such a horribly bad idea... I thought Britain was Orwellian with their surveillance camera system, but to have put this in place and for most ppl to not even KNOW about it.. that by definition is a police state! Outsourcing it to some agency is monumentally wrong. I think I need a pocket jammer system just to go to the public library...

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    If I sound stupid, it's not me talking....
  3. You've bought the rhetoric. by mister_playboy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Because tickets are sent to the wrong people?

    Because tickets are assessed to the owner (not the driver) of the car?

    Because you have no accuser to confront in court?

    Because rear-end collisions increase at intersections with red-light cameras?

    Because yellow lights may be shorter in duration to increase revenue?

    Because government and for-profit private companies collude and share the income from what is normally law enforcement (government-only) fines?

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    Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will