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Civil rights activists are sounding the alarm on a brand new plan for 24-hour tracking of surveillance cameras in Washington, D.C., which has been subsidized by way of the town’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser.
On Thursday, Bowser introduced a brand new facility, referred to as the "real-time crime center," which can be housed within the Metropolitan Police Division headquarters and make allowance cops within the Washington metro space to observe livestreams of cameras surveilling the general public for twenty-four hours an afternoon, 12 months a 12 months.
The announcement surprised the Washington bankruptcy of the American Civil Liberties Union, whose government director, Monica Hopkins, known as it an “alarming expansion of government surveillance.”
Bowser and MPD Leader Pamela Smith framed the brand new middle — opening in February — with the intention to stem crime within the space, which police say has surged throughout a number of classes nowadays. The mayor stated the middle will make up for a lack of police assets in recent times, pointing out “no camera will replace a live police officer, but it does enhance our ability to be in more places.”
The middle can be utilized by regulation enforcement on the native and federal degree, together with the U.S. Capitol Police and the Secret Provider.
Smith stated the middle “will allow us to begin the investigation the moment we receive a call for assistance" and will be defined by a “commitment to leveraging technology and collaboration to keep our communities safe.”
On its face, that sounds good, right? What sane person doesn’t want crime addressed? But there’s a tradeoff when it comes to expansions of government surveillance. Theoretically, officials might be able to cut crime down to zero if they had complete insight into everyone’s actions at all times of the day. But the obvious downside to that — for residents, at least — would be the loss of privacy.
And while police in Washington haven’t (yet) said they want to place a camera in every resident’s home, the expansion of the surveillance state in public seems likely to impose on people’s sense of freedom or independence, as well. In the nation's capital, Big Brother will be watching them more intensely — along with Big Sister Bowser.
The mayor said earlier this year she wants to double the number of public cameras surveilling the city's streets over the next two years.
I see this as particularly tragic for Washington residents, who continue to be denied statehood and the adequate federal representation that comes with it. Earlier this year, we saw the pitfalls of that predicament, when President Joe Biden signed off on conservative lawmakers’ push to overturn felony justice reforms that were subsidized by way of the town council. (Federal regulation lets in this, by way of the best way).
I don’t imagine federal lawmakers will make similar objections to the shiny new surveillance center in Washington. And in the likely event those objections never come, the message from federal law enforcement on down will be that overbearing and cruel policing measures are preferable to more humane ones backed by the city's residents or their elected council members.
To brush up on the topic of high-tech surveillance, check out my chat with Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, about the anti-democratic threats posed by law enforcement officials’ increasing reliance on surveillance technology. And for background on states that have implemented similar 24/7 surveillance centers, check out this HuffPost video I narrated in 2019. It examines a plan that was controversially deployed in Newark, New Jersey.
In a district like Washington, which isn’t totally enfranchised, what is being enforced thru high-tech surveillance is creeping illiberalism — no longer neighborhood protection.