We think that video surveillance systems used by local police and municipalities are a good thing. While cameras in pubic areas may not be as effective as an officer on the street, they do provide a certain sense of security and no doubt have deterred crime in some areas. However, the authorities may have gone too far in Baltimore, where they required one bar owner to install a video surveillance camera within the bar with a live feed to the police station.
The owner of Shirley’s Honey Hole, a small neighborhood bar in Baltimore, was in deep trouble after her bar had been deemed a nuisance property after repeated calls to police about drug deals and loud patrons. Sounds like a typical shady neighborhood bar, right?
Well in order to keep her doors open, Shirley accepted a plea deal to hire a security guard and install a camera with a live feed to Baltimore’s City Watch control center, where the city’s other 450 public cameras are monitored.
While the move is considered legal since the bar owner agreed to it, it’s questionable whether she really had a choice, since the other option would be closing down the bar and losing her livelihood.
Unfortunately for Shirley, the large signs warning patrons that the city is watching them order a round for their friends may have the same effect.
Thu, Sep 10, 2009
Surveillance Cameras, Video Surveillance