EDITORIAL: Our camera-happy county

‘ ‘ ‘ Following in the footsteps of cities like London and Tel Aviv, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-… ‘ ‘ ‘ Following in the footsteps of cities like London and Tel Aviv, Sen. Arlen Specter, R- Pa., recently announced a plan to expand Allegheny County’s security and surveillance camera system, known as the ThreatViewer Emergency Management Visualization System. ‘ ‘ ‘ Allegheny County already has 64 stationary cameras, but with $750,000 worth of federal funding, county officials will expand the surveillance camera network by purchasing an additional 40 mobile cameras and connecting them together in a closed-circuit network. The surveillance network is expected to help in identifying criminals and keeping people safe in urgent situations like floods or fires. ‘ ‘ ‘ Such systems are vital law enforcement devices in many cities. When London experienced the tragic July 2005 terrorist attack, law enforcement officials used their surveillance system ‘mdash; known as CCTV ‘mdash; to track the perpetrators of the crime. ‘ ‘ ‘ Indeed, statistics have shown that surveillance systems are effective tools in deterring crime. A recent report by the California Research Bureau analyzed the effects of Los Angeles surveillance cameras in preventing or resolving crime. According to the report, the average monthly crime rate on Hollywood Boulevard. decreased by more than 10 percent following the deployment of surveillance cameras. ‘ ‘ ‘ County Emergency Services Chief Bob Full said the cameras will not only be used to monitor high crime areas, but also to aid emergency responders in dealing with floods, helping them decide on how to approach an area hurt by flood waters.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The benefits are plenty, but the plan is not perfect. While statistics show that these camera networks can prevent crime, problems can still arise. Take the fatal mishap by the London police in July 2005: 27-year-old Jean Charles Menezes was shot several times by police who, following him by camera surveillance, believed him to be a suspected criminal. ‘ ‘ ‘ The question of privacy has also been left unanswered. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, county officials have not yet decided on whether they will write a privacy policy about how the surveillance system will be used. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Post-Gazette also reported that ThreatViewer will incorporate county police, the sheriff’s office, city and municipality police departments and private entities with surveillance cameras. But county officials did not specify what these private entities are. ‘ ‘ ‘ In fact, officials have been very vague concerning the details of the surveillance network. As it stands, we do not know exactly how the plan will be implemented. ‘ ‘ ‘ Will authorities be watching the live feeds at all times? How high is the camera resolution, and will the resolution affect how useful the system is in deterring crime? Are the tapes accessible to private entities or just public officials? ‘ ‘ ‘ This plan has positives and negatives but, if implemented responsibly, the program should help the county more than hurt it. But county officials have an obligation to inform the public more about the plan before it goes into effect.