May 31, 2005 – In a plan that follows similar efforts by Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans, the New York City Police Department said Monday that it is seeking funds to quintuple the number of surveillance cameras it uses throughout the city in an effort it says will help deter crime and fight terrorism. The announcement sparked a call for public debate on the issue by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"There needs to be, once and for all, public hearings on the pros and cons of surveillance cameras," Norman Siegel, the former executive director of the NYCLU, told the New York Times. "You are talking about fundamental freedoms: the right to freely travel, the right of anonymity."
Donna Lieberman, the current executive director of the group, said the cameras represent a threat to privacy and told Reuters that the plan "has all the earmarks of Big Brother."
New York Police Department officials cite drops in crime in places where 80 already existing cameras are located as evidence that they work. Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly termed the proposed monitors "deterrent cameras" and declined to specify where they would be placed or how much they will cost.
According to the city?s housing bureau, crime dropped an average of 36 percent in the year following the installation of similar cameras in public housing developments. Most of the crimes abated were nuisance crimes such as graffiti and public urination, according to the Times.
Officials say the cameras will not be actively monitored
