baltimore goes for 24/7 surveillance
Baltimore Plans 24-Hour Surveillance [ap via abc news]Authorities in the Baltimore region are trying to build a network of around-the-clock surveillance cameras to target crimes from terrorism to drug dealing, the state’s homeland security chief said.
“We’re at war, ” said Dennis R. Schrader, director of homeland security for Gov. Robert Ehrlich.
Dozens of surveillance cameras are already in place to deter crime throughout downtown Baltimore, but those images are generally taped and reviewed only occasionally.
The new images will be monitored by about a dozen retired police officers or criminal justice college students, said Elliot Schlanger, Baltimore’s chief information officer.
i feel safer already knowing that criminal justice college students will be looking over my shoulder. that’s an interesting group of people to bring into this effort – it would seem to make the next generation of criminal justice graduates more comfortable with the concept of a surveillance state.
according to the story, this is the first 24/7 monitoring effort in the united states.