Interesting point.

Post #3,530 by imric 8/1/01 7:41:36 PM Reply	Interesting point. Notice the police cruiser cameras? No warrant needed for sound and video for them. Is court testimony based on them then, legal? It's possible that such recordings might be used (until some lawyer challenges it, anyway). Police powers now encompass so many things now, some directly in conflict with the constitution (if a cop mentions "drugs", for instance, property can be siezed, and sold at auction without restitution to the owner, even if the charges never go to court. DUI checkpoints allow basic searches without probable cause... etc., etc) and precedent. An officer can 'run' a license plate (public) without any overt reason; asking for identification, license, insurance, registration, etc. requires probable cause. So - is a face a 'license plate', or 'ID'? Can the police legally use face-recognition software to trawl for 'perps'? Since, as many love to quote, driving is a privelege, not a right, license plates might be spot-checkable - I suspect that since "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" is a holy canon here in the 'States, 'face checks' don't fall into the same category. And if they are tested legally, and are considered legal, watch hoods and masks become commonplace fashion statements. Not everyone is comfortable with the police watching everything you do, with the only respite being to hide on private property. Imric's Tips for Living Paranoia Is a Survival Trait Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
Post #3,536 by addison 8/1/01 8:19:24 PM Reply	Re: Interesting point. Is court testimony based on them then, legal? It's possible that such recordings might be used (until some lawyer challenges it, anyway) As far as I know, yes. I did a quick web search, and didn't find any news to it being every challenged. (found a couple Canadian articles decrying it). Again, since this is a public issue, I don't think they can be. Maybe we can ask LAM,E for an opinion. :) watch hoods and masks become commonplace fashion statements. Not everyone is comfortable with the police watching everything you do, with the only respite being to hide on private property. And the West thinks the Arabs are old-fashioned and archaic. :) As to the police powers - the seizure law is so obscene as to be worthy of question how it ever was passed. Addison
Post #3,541 by wharris2 8/1/01 8:49:39 PM Reply	Cruiser cams Presumably the cruiser cameras are used to back up the testimony of the officer - at least that's what I've seen. They aren't used in a vacuum, like the street cams. Officer testifies "I did this and thus, and the perp did this." Produces cruiser video in support. Problem is that without other evidence, people can claim they were roughed up or evidence planted; with that camera, it's harder to do the claim. Also, remember, the street intersection cams have been associated with deliberate shortening of the yellow light period. Of course when the yellow light interval is shortened, there will be more people caught in the intersection. Pure dollars at stake here. French Zombies are zapping me with lasers!
Post #3,615 by mhuber 8/2/01 12:05:07 PM Reply	And as such, I have no problem with them The cruiser cam is limited in a very practical sense - there are only as many out there as there are cruisers. You can't blanket the city with them without blanketing the city with cruisers. You can't use them to track everybody everywhere without spending too much money and scaring the straights. A cruiser cam is equivalent to a cop seeing things that happen in public. Not only that, they encourage professionalism and acceptable behavior on the part of the police. Sure, they can be turned off, but the officer's testimony is so much more compelling when there is video. I suppose the software could be used, and the database built, on the images anyway. But considering the limited resources, it is likely that the cameras will be focused on problems, not fishing for crimes. White guys in suits know best - Pat McCurdy

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