Public Safety Cameras Back on Council Agenda: May 15
The May 15 City Council meeting will include consideration of expending $10,000 for a pilot program placing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at strategic Piedmont locations to provide live video feeds. The City Council deferred further consideration of cameras at Hampton Park based on privacy issues.
The staff report can be read here.
The ACLU has reservations about Public Video Surveillance except in high profile terrorist targets, concluding that its benefits – preventing at most a few street crimes, and probably none – are disproportionately small. It’s arguments against most installations are:
1. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE
2. CCTV IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO ABUSE
3. THE LACK OF LIMITS OR CONTROLS ON CAMERAS USE
4. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE WILL HAVE A CHILLING EFFECT ON PUBLIC LIFE
Read more details from the ACLU here
Read the May 15 City Council agenda here.
I am not sure why the ACLU, who I frequently support for their Pro-Choice positions, would believe there is a reasonable expectation of privacy on a public street.
The statement that video surveillance has not been effective in fighting crime is disproved almost every night on local TV news.
I support the city’s pilot program on installing CCTV at strategic locations within public rights-of-way.
I believe the Chief’s staff report acknowledges that the effectiveness of these cameras has not been established. As to privacy, the staff report alludes to constitutional rights to privacy, which means your personal identification will not be divulged by the Department. Another aspect of privacy is the release of the video footage in response to a public records request to unknown members of the public which some may consider a violation of privacy. Most East Bay police departments that have these cameras do make the video available to public release. The initial staff report indicated that these cameras would be used in many different locations, such as trails and walkways. That is well beyond the public right of way where these cameras are usually placed. I don’t see how the pilot study will inform this aspect of their intended use.