As Surveillance Cameras Proliferate Coalition Forms to Protect Privacy Rights

BOSTON - In an August 2007 newspaper article former Boston Globe national legal affairs correspondent Charlie Savage wrote that the federal Department of Homeland Security is “funneling millions of dollars to local governments nationwide for purchasing high-tech video camera networks accelerating the rise of a ‘surveillance society’ in which the sense of freedom that stems from being anonymous in public will be lost privacy rights advocates warn.” Today organizers from Boston and surrounding cities and towns say the timing - the end of eight years of Bush administration secrecy and fear mongering and the start of the Obama presidency - is just right to start a region-wide campaign to look at the effect on civil liberties and criminal justice of such a ‘surveillance society.’ Information about the extent of money and infrastructure devoted to surveillance cameras locally is hard to ascertain. In the area of mass transit according to published reports the MBTA has approximately 500 cameras throughout its system. But compiling comprehensive information about this technology and how the imagery and other data it collects is being used has become increasingly difficult as lines of authority between federal state and local officials have blurred say concerned activists. One thing is certain the amount of information (audio video and data) the federal government gathers and shares has increased tremendously since September 2001. The Department of Homeland Security website states: “The Homeland Security Information Network which is available in all 50 states makes threat-related information available to law enforcement and emergency managers on a daily basis through a web-based system. Members of the private sector now receive threat-related information through the HSIN system. In addition members of 35 different Federal agencies are now all co-located together in DHS’s new 24-hour Homeland Security Operations Center which allows the information coming from various sources to be synthesized together and then shared with other federal partners such as the FBI and the Department of Defense.” Justifications for the use of surveillance cameras range from stopping terrorists and protecting national security to deterring local criminals. But few people outside of law enforcement and national security agencies know exactly how all this compiled data is used and protected from misuse. In Boston plans to formerly investigate and protest the installation and use of surveillance cameras have accelerated in the years since 2004 when scores of cameras were placed around city streets in the vicinity of the Democratic Party’s national nominating convention at the TD Banknorth Garden. According to Nancy Murray American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Director of Education and ACLU Staff Attorney Sarah Wunsch evaluations of surveillance practices around the country indicate that cameras are ineffective in preventing crime and only “minimally good” at gathering useful evidence in criminal investigations. They cite the example of former Oakland Deputy Chief of Police Peter Dunbar whose opposition in 1997 prevented the installation of surveillance cameras in that California city. "The main argument for not installing the cameras was the public's perception of Big Brother watching over them " Dunbar told the Sonoma County Independent newspaper at the time "and we didn't want to tear apart our relationship with the community." In a guest commentary for the Cambridge Chronicle published Wednesday Nancy Murray of the ACLU asked: “Whose eyes will be watching us as we go about our daily business? Will the digital images be shared — if so with what agencies and on what terms? Where will they be stored and for how long? Who will have access to them?” In other cities such as Baltimore officials have lauded the efficacy of the cameras. Opponents counter that the industry that makes and sells the technology has accelerated their marketing to cities at the same time federal grant money through the Department of Homeland Security has become widely available. The money activist say is just too hard for municipalities to resist. The Board of Selectmen in Brookline and the Cambridge City Council are considering proposals to use DHS funding to purchase and install 12 and 8 surveillance cameras respectively. Neither city currently owns and/or operates municipal cameras. There are numerous private cameras however installed and operated by businesses and institutions such as Harvard University. Boston officials have indicated they plan to use federal money to increase the number of cameras to more than seventy citywide. The Cambridge City Council’s Civic Unity Committee has scheduled a public hearing to discuss the Homeland Security grant on Thursday January 22nd at 5:00p.m. in Cambridge City Hall. Yesterday the ACLU along with local peace and social justice groups co-sponsored a planning meeting at its downtown office with the goal of forming a “Greater Boston Coalition to Stop the Cameras.” Thirty five people from Boston Brookline Somerville Cambridge and other cities and towns participated in the meeting. During a brainstorming session attendees called for identifying the locations of cameras researching how local governments plan to use the data they gather and for much greater public education around surveillance privacy and civil liberties issues. Whatever strategies evolve locally Amy Hendrickson a leader of the social justice group Brookline Peaceworks expressed hope that greater Boston’s approach becomes a model for other cities around the country. OMB Audio: Conversation with Nancy Murray ACLU of MA Director of Education conducted on Sunday January 4th as part of “RADIO with a VIEW” on WMBR Cambridge. Co-producer Dave Goodman begins by asking Nancy Murray to evaluate the historical moment. Web Resources: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x2094351180/Guest-commentary-B... http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/08/12/us_dole... Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati