Police State Downtown.

[stephendare]

Apparently there are plans, (in this economy, no less) to attempt to move forward with a plan to put every square inch of downtown under 24 hour a day surveillance, leaving no private areas and exposing every visitor to the area to 360 degree surveillance and taping.

Such a move, would kill the downtown, in  my opinion.

Why on god's green earth does our city come up with such rampantly stupid and ass backwards ideas?

Why not just light the damn thing, get rid of the parking meters and stupid one way streets and allow people, life and safety to return to the downtown core.

This will be another multi million dollar rollout, on the taxpayer dime no less, that will do nothing except make it even less likely that people will return.

holy mother of God.

[jason_contentdg]

Awesome, the city can no longer afford to offer recycling services to its residents, but they can get this ball rolling.

[tufsu1]

Apparently there are plans, (in this economy, no less) to attempt to move forward with a plan to put every square inch of downtown under 24 hour a day surveillance, leaving no private areas and exposing every visitor to the area to 360 degree surveillance and taping.

Not that I support the camera idea in any way....but the streets aren't private....they are public spaces....and the cameras will not be able to see into private buildings (especially if the blinds are shut)!

[Doctor_K]

Amen, JoeMerchant.  And Stephen, agree completely.  Yet another slippery slope.  That the city can somehow afford. 

Even though they can't recycle.  Or do much of anything else.

[JeffreyS]

The cameras may not do any good but they won't kill downtown either see London.

[gatorback]

I'd love to know the operating  budget for this program.  Cuz, for 10 % of the budget I'll supply the c city with video tape of empty streets. You've got to be kidding me.

[vicupstate]

Video survillence of public streets and places is quite common around the country and the world.  I too would question the expenditure given the lousy budget/economy.  But, there is nothing unique or particularly deterimental about this. I know it reeks of Big Brother, but I don't know of one example of abuse, although the opportunity certainly exists.   

[tufsu1]

I agree its a slippery slope, but not unheard of...

Tampa had a trial program a few years back....they used the cameras installed in Ybor City for face detection of known criminals....in the end, the program was shut down because the software wasn't good and the Big Brother issues....buit the cameras are still there.

And how many buildings do we go into that have cameras....just about every WalMart, drug store, gas station, bank, health club, etc.....in most cases, there are either no tapes or they are destroyed/recorded over after a few days.

[NotNow]

What program are you referring to Stephen?  Every square inch?  Really?  Perhaps CCTV located at points of mass transit and mass gathering paid for with federal grant money would be a bit more palatable, wouldn't it?  In areas where there is a steady complaint of lack of police presence and yet a great deal of misdemeanor crime (which required the officer to witness, or have evidence/witnesses), wouldn't such a system where police dispatch could playback, get descriptions, video evidence and such help downtown businesses?  What is happening on DT streets that requires privacy?  The things that I can think of would offend someone and result in complaints to police anyway.  As always, I am interested in hearing other opinions.

[jtwestside]

The camera = slippery slope is nothing more than a fallacy based on tin foil hat conspiracies. You're in a public place you have no expectation of privacy. And where are you expecting the slope to lead exactly? Cameras in your home? Ridiculous. As is already stated cameras are already everywhere you do business.

Anyway, the real issue with downtown is the high concentration of homeless services. Everyone in the city knows this. That's why they avoid downtown in the first place.

[BridgeTroll]

I would also like to see more of this "plan" in order to make an informed decision.  Video surveillance is widely accepted in many various public places and have indeed both deterred and caught criminals.  I am trying to think of a scenario where a camera on a corner would stop me or intimidate me from behaving as I normally do downtown.  I personally would prefer more cops on bikes or walking a beat downtown.

[midnightblackrx]

kill downtown? i wasn''t aware of a pulse since I've been living there.  But I agree Stephen.

Video surveillance does nothing but create the illusion of security.

[jtwestside]

HowStuffWorks.com has a verry good write up on it http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/police-camera-crime.htm

Things I found interesting:

While the ACLU and other activists remain vocal about the issue, there are legal precedents in the United States establishing the legality of this kind of public surveillance. Since the cameras are clearly marked in public areas, courts have traditionally ruled that people understand that they are in open places where privacy shouldn't be expected

However,

...the 2005 Home Office study revealed that the cameras did not produce enough bang for the buck. Federal and state governments have poured millions into the set-up and upkeep of crime cameras, but the Home Office study revealed that they were underutilized and not fully integrated into police strategies 

but they can be used to generate revenue!

This isn't to say that crime cameras are entirely useless. Evidence consistently points out that cameras reduce auto-related crimes as much as 41 percent

[tufsu1]

And clearly there is a move afoot in Jax. and all over the country to install cameras at intersections to catch red light runners.

Some cities, like DC, have taken it a step further....they have cameras that measure the speed of drivers....and if you're going to fast, you get a ticket in the mail a few days later!

[Deuce]

If the cameras are actually used to reduce crime and vagrancy then I'm fer it. If they are just for show, then I'm agin it. Though what we truly need is a no-tolerance policy on littering, vagrancy, panhandling, etc., more lighting, a little more presence of beat cops and the forced removal of the non-profits. Ya heard me right, put them in Baymeadows!

"city can no longer afford to offer recycling services to its residents" -What exactly has been eliminated?