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January 27, 2006
But if we want to really talk about cameras...
ZNet has a post (PDF, 57.7KB) detailing how Sydney, Australia is planning to link every single closed circuit camera to police command (of course, the ironic question is that this may transform the "closed circuit" notion of the camera system to more of an "open circuit"). Its all a reaction to the anti-Arab riots on the Sydney beaches on Australia Day.
The Daily Telegraph reported on January 26 an 'exclusive' which said that 'banks, shops and any private business with a CCTV camera will be recruited into a state-wide digital spy network to counter terrorism, violent crime and rioting.' You can be confident it will also be used to monitor minor crime, activists and protesters.A security blanket will be thrown over the state where thousands or tens of thousands of extra cameras will become part of the new system.
The Police Minister, Carl Scully, who belongs to the ruling Labor Party, said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that he got the idea after returning from a meeting with the police Anti-Terrorism Branch in London. Yet in the name of terrorism, it is reasonable to think that the police will use the cameras to track the movements of anyone the government or its security services don't like. With current digital facial recognition technology, tested at selected airports around the world, this would be easy. There was no mention by Scully of any safeguards.
Posted by raffi at January 27, 2006 08:09 AM
Comments
Can't centralizing these cameras cut both ways? Yes, law enforcement will have easier access, but won't it become more vulnerable to hack-jacking and disruption?
Posted by: toshi at January 28, 2006 12:05 AM
"Any costs by shop-keepers and others in upgrading and connecting their cameras will be met by the State."
again, i love how progress, safety, and security against terrorism are buzzwords used by the governments to enable "watching".
well isn't it reasonable to think that they will have cameras watching the more vulnerable parts of the chain? hack-jacking is possible, but how? are the live feeds going to be broadcast with some level of encryption?
Posted by: mohit at January 30, 2006 03:12 AM