Dear Seattle: Instead of Video Surveillance, Give Me a Light!

Written by Christina Drummond
This morning, the Seattle City Council had an initial hearing on the mayor's proposal to authorize a video surveillance program for four parks as early as June 2008.

The ACLU does not support video surveillance and does not support Seattle's proposal for many reasons, which Jennifer Shaw, our legislative director, presented to the Seattle City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee.

People living in a free society should be able to enjoy public spaces without having to subject their actions to constant government monitoring. This particular proposal would record the activities of innocent people, while illegal acts move to just out of sight of the camera. At the same time, this proposal includes no mechanism to "watch the watchers" and monitor abuses like racial profiling and voyeurism.

I was amazed to hear proponents recognize that the cameras wouldn't stop crime, but instead would simply make people feel safer. An $850,000 placebo that will function like a scarecrow, the cameras would scare away criminals (who will commit their crimes elsewhere) while making the public feel safer because there is a camera.

Video surveillance is but a tool, and we have to ask whether this tool is the right one to keep us safe and protect our freedom. Will you still feel safe after a crime has been committed while the camera was looking the other way? Will you still feel safe if research shows that the cameras have no effect on violent crime, or if the crime merely moves further away from the park and closer to your car, business or home?

Personally, I'd feel safer with better lighting and more community policing over static cameras any day. Especially since then, I wouldn't have to worry about being ogled one summer day by those behind the lens.