Get ready for more big brother... say goodbye innocent until
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Found via DrudgeReport.com, originally from Chicago Sun-Times.
Headline is linked to originally article.
New city police cars will have cameras
... and external microphones on some un-marked cars
March 25, 2005
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND FRANK MAIN Staff Reporters
Six years ago, the Chicago Police Department installed cameras in 10 squad cars to restore public confidence after a pair of police shootings killed two unarmed civilians: Robert Russ and LaTanya Haggerty.
It was supposed to be the wave of the future for the entire police fleet. Instead, it turned out to be a 10-camera pilot program that went no further.
On Thursday, Fleet Management Commissioner Michael Picardi disclosed plans to install cameras on 125 new squad cars scheduled for delivery over the next two months: front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Impalas that will replace the old rear-wheel-drive Ford Crown Victorias.
"It makes it safer for the officer. Now, you're filming everything that's going on during a traffic stop, during an arrest," Picardi said.
Big Brother microphones tested
Picardi said he's even experimenting with a Big Brother bonus for unmarked police cars: a tiny microphone positioned near the windshield so powerful it can pick up conversations on the street.
"You could pull into a street corner and, if there's a drug deal going on a half-block away, you can hear what's going on. You could have all the windows shut and the air-conditioning on and you could hear everything going on outside the vehicle," Picardi said.
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he would be concerned if the police recorded those conversations without a warrant.
"It would raise serious questions under the Fourth Amendment and the Illinois eavesdropping law," Yohnka said.
Illinois State Police have 1,200 vehicles equipped with cameras.
"It's all pluses, no minuses," State Police spokesman Lincoln Hampton said.
... more at linked article
I really don't mind the first part that much. Using cameras does make things safer for the police, and can even help protect the rights of the citizens that are arrested as the officer has to be aware that the camera is there and must show restraint because of the possibility of the video evidence showing his/her own mistreatment of an individual. I even like the idea -- to some extent -- of there being an audible record to go with the visual record. Having been a victim of a traffic stop that went awry in Texas, and wanting desperately to have both audio and video (supposedly there was video, but I couldn't get the do-nothing lawyer that I used to actually obtain a copy of the tape while I was working to get the trumped up charges dropped {eventually they were dropped, but only after a long ordeal of being "on probation" when I shouldn't have been}) that I could use to prove my innocence and go after the deputy that had pulled me over for abuse of authority, negligence and misconduct, I could see where having audio and video could be very useful for all parties involved.
But... the big brother aspect of the un-marked cars scares me. I know that innocent people have nothing to worry about, or at least they aren't supposed to. But, having had my mis-adventures with "Texas Justice" and finding myself tossed in jail for several hours taught me that there are many times when innocent people are wrongly treated. What happens if a couple of friends are just joking about drugs or having drunk too much as they walk down the street? What if one tells a friend that he "tore the woman {at home} up" - do the police then listen further to determine the context and figure out if the individual is guilty of spousal abuse or if he was just joking about what the latest bedroom adventures were?
I'm definitely glad I don't live in an area that is using such monitoring systems. It's bad enough to have to be concerned about driving past traffic cameras that are noting that I'm speeding by 1 MPH, or that I pulled just a bit too far into the intersection when the light quickly changed from green to yellow to red.
This sort of big brother-ism is just not needed and most definitely not wanted in my neighborhood. I hope this is something that is stopped before it even starts.
Headline is linked to originally article.
New city police cars will have cameras
... and external microphones on some un-marked cars
March 25, 2005
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND FRANK MAIN Staff Reporters
Six years ago, the Chicago Police Department installed cameras in 10 squad cars to restore public confidence after a pair of police shootings killed two unarmed civilians: Robert Russ and LaTanya Haggerty.
It was supposed to be the wave of the future for the entire police fleet. Instead, it turned out to be a 10-camera pilot program that went no further.
On Thursday, Fleet Management Commissioner Michael Picardi disclosed plans to install cameras on 125 new squad cars scheduled for delivery over the next two months: front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Impalas that will replace the old rear-wheel-drive Ford Crown Victorias.
"It makes it safer for the officer. Now, you're filming everything that's going on during a traffic stop, during an arrest," Picardi said.
Big Brother microphones tested
Picardi said he's even experimenting with a Big Brother bonus for unmarked police cars: a tiny microphone positioned near the windshield so powerful it can pick up conversations on the street.
"You could pull into a street corner and, if there's a drug deal going on a half-block away, you can hear what's going on. You could have all the windows shut and the air-conditioning on and you could hear everything going on outside the vehicle," Picardi said.
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he would be concerned if the police recorded those conversations without a warrant.
"It would raise serious questions under the Fourth Amendment and the Illinois eavesdropping law," Yohnka said.
Illinois State Police have 1,200 vehicles equipped with cameras.
"It's all pluses, no minuses," State Police spokesman Lincoln Hampton said.
... more at linked article
I really don't mind the first part that much. Using cameras does make things safer for the police, and can even help protect the rights of the citizens that are arrested as the officer has to be aware that the camera is there and must show restraint because of the possibility of the video evidence showing his/her own mistreatment of an individual. I even like the idea -- to some extent -- of there being an audible record to go with the visual record. Having been a victim of a traffic stop that went awry in Texas, and wanting desperately to have both audio and video (supposedly there was video, but I couldn't get the do-nothing lawyer that I used to actually obtain a copy of the tape while I was working to get the trumped up charges dropped {eventually they were dropped, but only after a long ordeal of being "on probation" when I shouldn't have been}) that I could use to prove my innocence and go after the deputy that had pulled me over for abuse of authority, negligence and misconduct, I could see where having audio and video could be very useful for all parties involved.
But... the big brother aspect of the un-marked cars scares me. I know that innocent people have nothing to worry about, or at least they aren't supposed to. But, having had my mis-adventures with "Texas Justice" and finding myself tossed in jail for several hours taught me that there are many times when innocent people are wrongly treated. What happens if a couple of friends are just joking about drugs or having drunk too much as they walk down the street? What if one tells a friend that he "tore the woman {at home} up" - do the police then listen further to determine the context and figure out if the individual is guilty of spousal abuse or if he was just joking about what the latest bedroom adventures were?
I'm definitely glad I don't live in an area that is using such monitoring systems. It's bad enough to have to be concerned about driving past traffic cameras that are noting that I'm speeding by 1 MPH, or that I pulled just a bit too far into the intersection when the light quickly changed from green to yellow to red.
This sort of big brother-ism is just not needed and most definitely not wanted in my neighborhood. I hope this is something that is stopped before it even starts.
PolMach Forums