San Jose police can tap into volunteer residents' cameras under newly-approved program

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Police will be able to quickly view footage from volunteer residents' private security cameras under a new program designed to increase the eyes and ears of San Jose's depleted police force.

The San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to create a police department database of all private security cameras owned by residents and businesses willing to participate, starting as soon as next month.

Police will not be able to view live feeds from the cameras, but a map of nearby cameras will allow detectives to know if a crime was likely to have been caught on tape. Investigators must request the footage from the private property owner, or get a court order.

... While property owners who have cameras are not required to participate in the program, people walking down the street now have to contend with a stronger possibility that they're being watched by the authorities. Those fears have largely since petered out, however.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26499884/san-jose-police-can-tap-into-volunteer-residents

[merrily]

1. In Boston, the city has cameras all over the place.

I don't even like those, but I have no reasonable expectation of privacy as I walk out in public. I don't know if they are picking up sound, though. I don't necessarily expect to be overheard. And, technology also allows listening to someone indoors and thermal imaging of the indoors, too. Sure hope Boston isn't doing that.

But, if people want to participate in this program, and they don't poke their cameras where they don't belong, I guess it's not that different from a city's putting more cameras out on the streets.

[Xithras]

2. I don't see any problems with this.

After several vandalism and break-in attempts, I installed a number of HD video cameras around my house last spring. Because one of my cameras captures both the sidewalk and the street in front of my home, something like this is theoretically possible. If the police wanted to review the footage from one of my cameras to help investigate a crime in my neighborhood, I don't think I'd have a problem giving it to them.

Fundamentally, three things make this OK. First, you have to opt-in to the program. Second, the police can't access your cameras in real time, so you don't have to worry about Big Brother watching you through your own cameras. Third, even if you opt-in, you still have the option of declining the requests when they do come in. If you think the police are being abusive, you can cut them off at any time.

[Rebl]

3. In the

article it does say the police can get a court order to see the footage from the camera if you refuse to give it to them.

[winstars]

4. I think they have always been able to get a court order... nt

[groundloop]

5. Agreed (and the headline made it sound more ominous than it really is)

On first appearance the headline makes it sound like police can willy-nilly grab video from private citizens security cameras, but after reading the article it's really not such a big deal. In fact it sounds like the only thing at all new is that police have a map of private security cameras, which will enable them to more quickly get video of a crime. They could always either request or get a court order for video, so really nothing new with that.

[blkmusclmachine]

6. I'm 100% sure the NSA sees through all cameras...on your cell phone, ATM's, your home computer, all

stores and all public spaces. If there's a camera, they can capture the images.