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What I find amusing are body cameras. We want them so bad to protect against police officers violating civil rights, but think how fast they'll ramp them up to
by justonepost 11y ago
What I find amusing are body cameras. We want them so bad to protect against police officers violating civil rights, but think how fast they'll ramp them up to doing things like face recognition. And why not? Imagine being able to spot criminals with warrants on them by just walking around in a crowd. Of course, it won't stop there. Hmm, I better go pay off those speeding tickets that are due...
- CyberDildonics 11y agoAt least that is only where the police physically are.
- whoopdedo 11y agoYou can justify that, and license plate cameras for that matter, because the camera is only automating a process that the police could still have done manually although it would have taken more time and been less reliable. Namely, if a police officer is told that a person is wanted and he sees a picture of him, then he could walk around a crowd looking for people who resemble the wanted person. The camera is doing the same thing his eyes and memory does, only faster. The problem is not so much the data collection, it's the retention. Because computers never forget, the police are then given a power the existing limits on their authority did not consider. So new laws need to be drafted to limit the actions of a police force that has infinite memory. Which many states are doing now. Until the police unions tell a bunch of scary "think of the children" stories about why they need unlimited surveillance power. Then the issue shifts from the police to the influence of money in politics. (And perhaps also whether public employees should be allowed to unionize. Or at least, whether a union of public employees should be allowed to lobby.)