AOW#2: Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime
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Question -Do you agree with the police chief when he says that this is "not a case of Big Brother watching" because the link to the cameras will only be activated when police already know an incident is happening in a certain area? How is this different from Big Brother? How will the police know that something is happening? Won't they review the tape and see everything that happened any ways?
The use of the cameras is not like big brother at all. They are being used to monitor crimes, not watch people at all times. The only way police know that something is happening is if someone calls 911, unless they are watching us on other peoples private cameras. To review the tapes and follow what they said in paragraph 8 is for someone to call police for an actual crime happening.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because I feel like it has a lot of positive outcomes that go along with it. I do not believe it is the same as "big brother" at all because Long Beach is just trying to protect the people and do their jobs. In the book people are being watched for no reason at all and that is wrong.
DeleteI also agree, since in 1984 they are being watched every second of their lives and have no freedom. Unlike Long Beach, the police, as you said, are only able to operate the cameras when crime is occurring, or beforehand and can prevent it. They are not looking at random citizens, nor care what they are doing as long as it’s legal. Police are only trying to help their city, and unlike 1984, put cameras to prevent incidents.
DeleteI would like to add that it is somewhat like Big Brother, just with different intentions. The police officers don't want to be controlling of their people, they just want to help everyone out. On the other hand Big Brother (the government) doesn't want to help anyone in Oceania but themselves. In this case the idea that people are always being watched is the same but the reasons of doing so are different.
DeleteI do agree with the Chief of Police when he says that this is, "not a case of Big Brother watching." I agreed with the chief because when he stated when crime occurs the cameras will be used to watch only in that specific time frame, only moments before and moments after. This is different from Big Brother considering the slogan for Big Brother is, “Big Brother is always watching.” And the chief of police will only be using these cameras to analyze crime or any suspicious activity that can prevent crimes that will be committed. The examples given in the text say that the cameras will only be used for active crime like car chases and bank robberies to pursuit the evading criminals or to get license plate numbers to find out where the suspect lives. Police won’t sit and watch the tape until something bad happens, they will fast forward the tapes to moments before the crime is actual committed to get better leads and maybe find new suspects.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with you, I feel that the police could use this to spy on other if they really wanted to. Actions speak louder than words, and although they are the police, not everything they say could be true. Just like how the government keeps the public in the shadow. And anyways, we live in a world of high-end technology and social media, so it wouldn't be too hard.
DeleteIn the situation of a crime though you would be able to tell if they are spying or not. Response time to a scene or if a crime was never reported would be huge factors on knowing.
DeleteI agree that the police chief has different goals than Big Brother because the police wants to reduce crime rates and the other is trying to eliminate people's freedom. The police is not tracking everyone's movement or invading individual's personal space, they are seeking out crime within the city. Adding more cameras will not hurt anyone and is needed to find suspects.
Deletei agree with you, the cameras are only used as evidence or to backtrack what has occured in this certain location, they dont care about anything else only the crime that occured
DeleteI agree with your understanding of big brother. The cameras in Long Beach aren’t there to act as big brother. Or at least not how the book 1984 portrays it as. These cameras would only be used for crime “research”. If a bank was robbed, they’d use the cameras to get the robbers faces or car plates. The cameras are strictly there to help everyday citizens.
DeleteThe chief’s statement “not a case of big brother is watching” due to the fact that the camera's link would only be activated when the police are already aware that an action is occurring in an area is possible to believe and agree with. People can agree with this statement because in Richard Winton’s article “Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime” Winton states, “McDonnell said that when crimes occur, a quick examination of camera recordings in the moments before and after can reveal vital clues or suspects” (Winton 10). This is different from Big Brother in the sense that the footage taken by the cameras are not constantly monitored but rather briefly skimmed through in order to pick out the details of an unfolding crime. The police would know when something is about to occur by either getting tipped off, witnessing the crime first hand (but not being able to catch the criminal), or by an incoming nine-one-one call. The police department in Long Beach as stated in the article are already facing a “worsening budget” therefore they cannot afford to workers constantly sitting in front of a screen reviewing footage that is of no help or benefit to any sort of investigation. Thus, the belief that “Big Brother is Watching” cannot be the absolute truth. When reviewing the tape the police will see everything that happened anyways. However, they will not pick apart the non-important details that come prior to the crime such as a kid walking by picking his nose, but rather fast forward and briefly view the occurrences long before the crime in order to get to the crime itself. Meaning that police do watch the tape except they do not actually keep a close watch to parts of the footage that hold little importance, but rather just briefly look at it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say that the will not be looking for non-important parts of the clips, because indeed this will not help the police with what happened (crime). Big Brother does not leave any privacy to his people, Long Beach does it for the security of their people. And like you said people won't be looking at the cameras at all time because they don't have any people watching at the cameras.
DeleteIt was a really good point to bring up their budget because that can be a huge problem, if they can't afford
Deleteto keep up with their staff, then they won't be able to keep anyone safe. People shouldn't act like the
police is now going to be watching their every move because that's just not how it is. The police our there
for our safety and that's what the cameras are being used for.
I agree that the police department is not concerned with every detail in their tapes because they only want to minimize the crime rate. In paragraph 11 of the article the police stated that they already utilize security cameras to monitor the streets, which means that people can continue with what they have been doing. The additional cameras are only so the police does not have to expend more people than it has to.
DeleteIn 1984, the government watches it’s citizens as much as they can, regardless if they are committing a crime. This is different from what the police chief is saying because he claims the cameras set up in Long Beach will only be active when a crime is being committed. Although, how would they know if a crime is being committed? They would have to have people watching the cameras regularly, and there are 400 cameras according to the article therefore that may be impossible. However, the goal of the police chief is to have people watching its citizens making me believe it is similar to Big Brother. McDonnell, the police chief explains, “We are not running a camera-monitoring center, but it will allow us to see what happened or what is occurring on a street or intersection,”. He seems to be contradicting himself because he is saying that they will be able to watch the whole city when they chose to do so. Even though it could be something positive for the city of Long Beach, it is still similar to what the government is doing in 1984, just not to the full extent.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you said that in order to know when crime is happening they would have to have someone constantly watching. Even if someone wasn't constantly watching they are going to go back and watch everything before the incident and everything after so they can look for clues and see if anything peculiar stands out on camera.
DeleteI agree with you because in order to go back and see a crime they will have to watch everything. That includes people that have nothing to do with the crime. In my opinion I don't think those people should be watched.
DeleteI agree with you, partly, because of the fact that the police will know which camera monitors to look at according to the phone call the area is given at. It is also similar to the book because you stated that the police chief does contradict himself when explaining his reasoning of the cameras. Also what if you don't get a call at the scene of a crime-that is when I completely agree with you! How would they know? It is a but creepy.
DeleteI agree with you when you asked yourself how would they know if a crime was being committed? I think in order to really know if a crime is being committed, they would have to have people be watching at all times. If they just relied on people telling them when there is an incident, they might as well just stick to their 911 system.
DeleteIn the novel 1984 The Party watches their people at all times even if they aren't doing anything illegal. In the Long Beach situation the police chief is just putting up the cameras to keep the town safe, and is only going to see it in a part of town where they already know a crime is so that officers know what they are getting into before they get on the scene. The intentions of the telescreen in 1984 is to have eyes on their citizens no matter what, so I agree with the Police Chief when he says "this is not a case of big brother watching".
ReplyDeleteI do agree due to the fact that Big Brother watches their people to make sure they aren’t rebelling out, or saying things that are thoughtcrime. The surveillance in Long Beach is only used when there is crime occurring, and help police with the situation at hand. Unlike 1984, the cameras are used to help prevent crime and as you said, aren’t doing anything illegal.
DeleteI disagree with both of you. I totally get where you're coming from, but I do think that it is kind of like Big Brother because every crime is monitored on camera in Long Beach. In the article the author even states that the cameras are used to "promote greater community and officer safety", this is basically saying that they're trying to stop the crimes from happening. The telescreens in 1984 constantly watch the people to stop crimes from happening.
DeleteI agree with Madelynn, primarily because in both worlds (real life and fiction), someone or something is being monitored. The use of over 400 cameras, in long beach alone, is very excessive. While I understand the need to prevent crimes, not all crimes will/can be prevented. It's just not possible. The only difference here is that this form of regulation does not try to manipulate the lives of others.
DeleteI agree with your statement when you say this form of regulation does not try to manipulate the lives of others. But I still do not think 400 cameras is “excessive.” The overall population of Long Beach is 470,000 so we both know this amount of cameras will never be enough to stop 100% of crime but it would bring it down significantly.
DeleteTo a certain point it is agreeable that this particular situation is not similar to "big brother" because the cameras being monitored "help [police] to respond to crimes better and prevent other crimes" (Winton 5). The article stated that they do not have a camera-monitoring center, thus they only activate the cameras where a crime is being committed or an incident is being occurred. In the novel by George Orwell, 1984, Winston said that their every move is being watched and controlled; in Long Beach this is not the situation, it is only watched when a call is made to the police station. They will review the tape and see what is happening to get more help on the incident, the police will see the tapes eventually-why not have it at the time of the occurrence so they know what they're dealing with so the cops go in safely.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the cameras are always rolling and you are completely right when you say that this is not exactly the case of Big Brother is watching. This because the police do not take the time to constantly review the footage without reasonable cause: there is no need for the police force to waste their time on insignificant details that do not relate to any crimes in the location of the various cameras. In the world of 1984 the constant observing of the people is used in order to keep the people in check and control their actions. However, in today’s society the cameras are not used to control the people but rather protect the people by getting criminals off the streets. Therefore having cameras around prove to be beneficial to the police force because by having the cameras available to the police, enables them to assess the ability of a criminal and look for clues that might help identify the criminal.
DeleteI agree with both of you when you guys say that cameras makes it more essay for the police to identify a certain crime. Also that this is not completely like BB type of monitoring. Long Beach does it because they want their citizens to be more secure, on the other side BB is doing it to capture every single move the people do.
DeleteI agree that cameras make it easier for the police and helps with police safety when it comes to identifying a crime. They just want to keep their police and citizens as safe as they can.
DeleteThis is absolutely obvious in light of the fact that they are simply doing this protect the privileges of the general population. in case a bad situation happens then they will know how to deal with the issue all the more productively. This is path not the same as the telescreens in 1984.
DeleteThis is true because Big Brother is using telescreens to stalk private lives. Also, some people might not know they are being watched and when they find out they are being watched, they feel unsafe. Police in Long Beach just want to use surveillance cameras to see more into the incident that occurred rather than having just the victim's point of view.
DeleteI understand what you are saying because they have no monitoring system. So what is the true point of the cameras. They were probably used to scare people and make them follow the law
DeleteI do agree with the police chief because it isn’t the case of Big Brother, Long Beach police aren’t taking away people’s privacy like Big Brother does. It’s just a more modernized way to have their community secure, however I think they should have cameras activated at all times because crimes can happen at any time. Like I said previously this is different from Big Brother because Big Brother observes people at all time, there are no limits, people don’t have any privacy. In Long Beach they are just observing the interaction around the city not in the people’s houses. The article also mentions that these are only activated at certain times when there is suspicious activity happening. The telescreens in 1984 are activated at all time. Maybe through calls that people make to the police department, reporting suspicious activity. Or the police that are outside doing their duty call the people who have access to the cameras, when they see something suspicious. The police will only be looking for the crime, not for what people were doing. They will not be analyzing every single part of the tape only the ones that gives them evidence of the crime, that can help them to either get the suspects or see what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, the police are not trying to spy into people’s personal lives. Their sole purpose in using the cameras in the first place is to catch criminals. The police have not gone as far as place wiretaps and or cameras into everyone's homes to monitor them like the Party in the novel 1984 had done with their use of telescreens. These cameras are also not intended to have some type of control over the people like the intended use of telescreens in 1984. When the police view the tapes they just briefly look at the footage long before the crime in order to get to the footage of the crime itself. The police do not conduct an in depth study of the people who walk passed the area long before the crime was ever committed because these people are unrelated to the crime.
DeleteThis is totally true because they are just doing this project to the rights of the people. In case worst scenario happens then they will know how to take care of the problem more efficiently. this is way different than the telescreens in 1984.
DeletePolice are only using surveillance cameras to record evidence and crime, especially when the city has such a high rate of it. Police would not have time to be watching every single person, but more like, they have a source to go to when an incident has occured. Also, they need to see what actually happened (due to the fact that people lie): "We are using every technology advantage to improve safety in this city. Long Beach officers will now know even before they arrive what potential threats they face," McDonnell said. "It will help us to respond to crimes better and prevent other crimes" (Winton 4). It does not link to “Big Brother” due to the fact that the people are not being watched in their homes, and police only associate the cameras for when there is high suspicion of crime occurring. It can prevent, and also help cases when there is need of evidence. It is reliable in a lot of cases, like The Boston Marathon bombing. People should not fear something that can be helpful.
ReplyDeleteI agree, these cameras are being used mush differently than the how the telescreens are used. Even if the police wanted to monitor these cameras constantly, they do not have the resources to do so because of the budget cut. These cameras will help the police to keep the streets safe, they are not going to be used to watch everything that we do.
Deletei agree, police already use cameras all the time to help build evidence within a case if needed and to catch criminals if something bad happens then they have video evidence. theres not correlation between big brother because big brother is more invasive and controling
DeleteThe usage of the cameras are being used are for only good intentions, like you said so people do not lie. I agree with you because it is a way to fight crime in a justice way and jail the correct suspect. It is a very reliable source for police.
DeleteI agree with you that the police will not have enough time to review everything. Instead of the cost of money we could just put out more patrol cars. The cameras can also be used as a scare tactic.
DeleteSome may agree with how the cameras can see it is “not a case of Big Brother watching” because the city of Long Beach is using these cameras for a good reason, to stop crime from happening or to catch the suspect before they run, but from another point of view people can strongly disagree with this statement after reading 1984. This statement is easy to disagree with because of the statement written by Richard Winston in the article “Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime”: “Although the city has a few dozen cameras across the community, McDonnell has set up a system to tap into hundreds of privately owned cameras that are part of the city’s streetscape”. This can scare citizens into thinking that they are going to be watched all the time, especially if their cameras are being tapped into. This is different from Big Brother because the cameras are only supposed to be used in times of crimes, or to stop crime from happening, and in the case of Big Brother the people are being watched 24/7. Police will know if something is happening by getting calls in like normal, or witnessing it with their own eyes. In order to get the slimmest clues, the monitors are going to have to watch everything that happened leading up to the crime and everything that followed, so it is kind of like someone is watching at all times.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. You mentioned that people's cameras will be tapped into which would scare citizens which I think is a good point because it makes them think of Big Brother even if it isn't to the full extent. I also agree with you when you say that the police will have to watch a lot more then just the crime because everything that happened before and after will also help police with the case.
DeleteI understand what both of you are saying and I slightly disagree. Although there are a lot of cameras, the citizens know there are cameras. Just like when you go to a store, you and everyone else knows or sees the cameras. They are there to stop others from doing illegal things. So even though they are technically "watching every move" they only care about whats harming others or whats being done illegally and tyring to stop it or find out who did it. It is overall supposed to be protecting the community not spy on every person like Big Brother.
DeleteThis doesn’t sound like it would be a case of Big Brother because the cameras in 1984 are used to watch people in their everyday life to see if they may be even thinking of going against their government while the cameras in Long Beach are strictly there to prevent crimes and keep the people and the police safe. They would not be using it to spy on people and imprison them for commiting a “thought crime”, it even says in the article “Long Beach Police Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime” the chief of police states, “It is designed to make us more efficient in combating crime and promote greater community and officer safety” (Winton 9). In a lot of crimes, that evidence can be crucial to finding a missing person, or where the perpetrator of a robbery has ran off to and will give them more evidence that could potentially save someone’s life. When they review the tape, they may see anything else that happened on the cameras, but they will not be concerned that you were zoning out with a dumb look on your face while this occured, they are concerned about the crime. Even if they are monitoring all hours of the day, it will help make the streets safer and they said they won’t tap into private cameras unless they know a crime is going on so it will help keep the community safe in the end. If they are monitoring they can prevent things like a robbery or maybe a violent assault and if people know they are being taped they will be less likely to commit the crime to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I do not think that this is a case of Big Brother watching either. The point of Big Brother is to watch what their citizens are doing at all times, they even can track their heart rate which is very invasive. Long Beach Police are using the cameras for the soul purpose of keeping their city safe and trying to make it even safer. While they are both monitoring their citizens, the reasons for it and the extent of it are very different from one another.
DeleteI agree this isn’t like Big Brother is watching it is just a way to insure the safety of police and helps them keep up with crimes in the area better to also insure the safety of citizens.
DeleteThis is absolutely true because the police in Long Beach do not want to spy on citizen's life. All they wanna do is "Fight crime" and make sure the city feels safer to the people living there. Big Brother has people being watched 24/7 so people's lives cannot be sly.
DeleteI agree that just knowing cameras are around could possibly prevent crimes from occurring in the first place. Of course, crime wouldn’t be completely eliminated but I think it would help lower the crime rates and make the city safer.
DeleteWhile the police chief uses this system for monitoring crimes around the city, this can also be seen as excessive in the fact that what they are doing is hacking into other private security cameras for use alongside their own security cameras. Although this is definitely not a case of “Big Brother watching” it has some similarities since there are, “more than 400 cameras citywide” (Winton par 2). These cameras can be seen in contrast to the eyes and telescreens in the book, as they appear to be “everywhere”. The only way, besides the cameras, to know if something is happening is if a report is filed. And since there are more than 400 cameras around the area, if the police really wanted to, they could spy on people. Unlike Big Brother though, these cameras do not keep everyone in a totalitarian state of mind. People are still free to do as they please. In 1984, the telescreens are eyes and ears to city. Not only that, but thoughtcrimes exist as well. The cameras are understandable, but a bit excessive at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI see where your reason is coming from, but in the article it clearly states that these 400 plus cameras will only be used to monitor moments before and after the actual crime scene occured. Given the opportunity the police will most likely review the cameras when given an anonymous tip of a crime that will be expected to be committed. So even though there might be a small chance that the police will watch what your doing I do not think it would have any ties to “Big Brother.”
DeleteI agree with you people are able to see things they shouldn't. Police shouldn't be allowed to access people's private camera feed. I feel like it is an invasion of privacy.
DeleteI see how it can be seen as excessive, but I think with how crime can become so bad and uncontrolled in a
Deletebig city scene. It's true that the police could spy on people, but why would they? What would be so
interesting for the Long Beach police officers to decide and watch over tapes instead of do their job?
I do not think that this is a case of Big Brother watching. While the point of the telescreens in 1984 is to make sure that no crimes are being committed, they are in people's homes which is much more invasive than the cameras in the streets. The cameras in Long Beach are not nearly as invasive as the telescreens in 1984, which is why I agree that these cameras will not be a case of Big Brother watching you. I also do not believe that Long Beach Police will be monitoring all of these cameras 24/7, they would not even have the means to do so due to the budget cuts, I think that they will access the cameras as needed when a crime is committed in their vicinity.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is not a case of big brother watching. The Long beach Police department would not waste their time or resources on spying on random people using the cameras that are in place. To do so would hinder their ability to effectively get work done . Instead, they are focused on dealing with current issues and other productive work.
DeleteThe Long Beach Police department are only using the cameras to access certain areas that they feel is unsafe for public safety. In 1984 they are constantly being supervised 24/7, as Police Chief Jim McDonnell states "We are using...technology...to improve safety in this city...[so] officers will know [before-hand] what potential threats they face."(Winton 5). So these are more for the police officers so that they could protect citizens more efficiently in everyday basis. It is also important to note that the cameras will not be accessed and will only be accessed "only when police know an incident is unfolding in a certain area."(Winton 8). Unlike "Big Brother' in 1984 the police force is not checking on innocent people all the time they are looking at footage of crimes taking place. The Department explicitly states that "We are not running a camera-monitoring center" thus this means that they are not spying on the whole city for safety reasons.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen the police chief says that this is "not a case of Big Brother watching," it is true because the police are not using surveillance cameras to record everything that is happening in the city of Long Beach. All the police are trying to do is use surveillance to seek out any crimes being committed by anyone if there seems to be something suspicious going on. This is different from Big Brother because in Big Brother, they are spying on people through their telescreens while in Long Beach, police are just using surveillance when a crime is committed to see who the person is that did it. They are not using surveillance cameras to stalk people's private life unlike Big Brother. Police will know what is happening when they receive a 911 call from a person who needs help or sees somebody else who is in trouble. Yes, the police will review what has happened in the tape and will see the truth behind the crime.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you leslie. The police chiefs cameras purpose are completely different from the cameras/telescreens that big brother uses to spy on his citizens with. The cameras are only in place so that the police may review a footage if a crime or accident has been committed, they in no way are violating anyone's privacy or spying.
DeleteWhen the police chief says that this is not "a case of Big Brother watching", he is right it is not the same. Big Brother spies on people through the telescreens while in long beach they are using cameras to solve crimes or stop them before they unfold, not to spy on people. The police will know something is happening from a 911 call, possibly social media, or anyone and look through the surveillance to see what is happening and who is doing it. Since the police will be reviewing the tape it could feel as if they are still spying on people, but if you see a camera than you know you are being recorded so why would you do something illegal? They are only looking for people doing illegal or suspicious things, so other people should not feel as if they are "Big Brother" and watching them.
ReplyDeleteI think this can really help the police in certain situations. But at the same time I think they can really be abused. At anytime someone who works there can go into the cameras and watch anything they want. Anyone can be watching you and you wouldn't know, that's the scariest part. But when there is a situation where they need to go back and see certain clues then this could be very useful.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this can really help the police and protect the city more by letting them know possible suspects and what happened. Although it feels like you are being watched, you technically aren't unless your doing something illegal. Maybe the police would see you, but if your harmless than they do not care and theres nothing to be scared about. I could see how this much power can get out of hand and possibly turn into a type of "Big Brother" as well.
DeleteThe police chief is correct because the use of cameras to monitor crimes and potential threats is aimed to find individuals who are suspected of committing crimes and not to follow every single person walking down the street . The article also stated that, “private security cameras are already connected to their owners electronically, and the department has been able to access such feeds when needed…”. People’s daily lives will remain unchanged as long as they do not commit any crimes. Big Brother’s objective is to monitor every aspect of everyone’s lives to prevent them from doing anything that would be considered illegal. The police chief’s goal is to maintain peace by searching for any threats and preventing any crime from occurring. The police department can not be everywhere at once, so they need a way to monitor the whole city without having everyone on duty. Cameras do record everything but because there are not enough cameras to monitor the whole city, there will be places where cameras can not record things and places where the police will not look.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there needs to be cameras where the police are not patrolling. This allows officers to see their blind spot while on patrol. People might get the wrong idea but this is good for crime to be put to a minimum on the streets.
DeleteThe chief of police and his belief that the cameras are “not the case of Big Brother watching” are completely valid. If an incident, crime, or accident occur in a specific area, the police have a right to use the cameras to quickly assess situations and plan out strategies. Unlike these cameras that are only used during time of necessity, the telescreens and cameras that Big Brother uses constantly are being used to view into citizens lives. The police would know that something is happening through pedestrians, drivers, or patrol vehicles that are dispatched calling 911 or through the cops on patrol. When they review the tape, they are only focused on the incident that occured, not other pedestrians that aren’t part of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement because even though they have access to the video it does not benefit them unless a crime occurred on the camera. So if they even went back and checked there would be no point. And like you said its for the officers to plan a strategies to when they get to the scene.
Deletethe police chef is someone to agree with because they aren't watching it 24/7 or watching it to get your info or anything. They are using the cameras as a way to stop incidents and theft not to watch the people for fun. Big brother is using them to watch and control their people of society, long beach isn't. Maybe the store can like press a button when they think someone is stealing and it turns the camera on or something, or it records all the time but they only are looking for incidents and thefts. Yes but it's the most effective way to catch all the incidents that occur
ReplyDeleteI agree with the police chief when he says it's not a case of Big Brother watching because it makes sense that officer would like a heads up on what they might expect at the call or the amount of danger they will be in. This is different from big brother because they look at the cameras all the time and watch all citizens. All the officers want is safety for their police officers and to find clues on what happened at the scene. Its very hard to put a crime scene together but, if you had video evidence then you have all the proof that person did the crime in court. Th police will know when something is happening from the call they get on the radio. Then they will go back and look at the video and see what happened moments before the police will arrive. They can go back and watch the tape but it has no benefit to them if no crime happened at the time so it's not a very big deal.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it can be really hard to solve a crime scene, and these cameras would help a lot in the process. For example, if there were no witnesses for a crime but they can't just let the criminal go, the police officers could watch the camera footage and ultimately catch the person.
DeleteI agree, most crimes are hard to solve without any video prof. Most crimes are solved by finding clues,but having a video could help a lot more.They would be able to figure out what happened so they exactly what to charge the guy with.
DeleteI agree with the police chief that this is “not a case of Big Brother watching” because many positive outcomes outweigh the possible risks. In 1984, Big Brother is constantly watching their every move, but with this new camera system, police would only be using the footage to their advantage. Technology is constantly advancing and surveillance cameras are already used in most public places, so there’s no way police officers could possibly ignore the fact that this could be saving many lives. Anyone that is worried about this camera system probably has something to hide. We are all entitled to our own privacy, but in public places, it is crucial to use all the resources necessary to keep a city safe. These cameras could act as the eyes wherever police officers or security guards couldn’t be at that moment. The article states: “London’s extensive camera system helped capture terrorist bombers there” (Winton 10). We could use all the help we can get in protecting against terrorists or any attacker. The bottom line is that this type of resource would be very useful in creating safe communities and lowering crime rates.
ReplyDeleteIt is not that big of a difference with the Long Beach police and Big Brother. The main difference would be that the people in 1984 did not believe they were being watched. This in both cases are invasions of privacy. Even if someone does something illegal it is to much research to do and so they should just put mmore patrol on duty.
ReplyDeleteIt still is considered a case of Big Brother because Big Brother is always watching people’s every move. Even though, in the case the police officer is talking about, they aren’t watching the city of Long Beach’s every move, they still have tons of cameras to keep and eye on people when something is wrong. It’s different than Big Brother technically, but the same concept overall. Unless there would be some kind of alert that occurs when something bad is happening, the police would never know when something is going wrong unless they are always watching people’s every move. In this theory, it would be exactly like Big Brother, but with different intentions. There wouldn’t really be a way for the police to only be able to see the incident happening without seeing the events that might’ve led up to it.
ReplyDeleteBased off of the intentions of the security cameras, it is not a case of Big Brother. Big Brother is as system that was put in place to constantly monitor the actions of civilians in order to control them. This however is more to be able to identify any crime cases and track down criminals. Yet there isn't truly a way for them to only capture the incident as the cameras would most likely have to be filming almost constantly in order to actually find crime. Overall though, the intent of the system differs from Big Brother and is not in play to simply watch over everyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it would be a different story entirely if they were always monitoring us but they are using it to help stop crime. Also Big Brother watches you everywhere including your house, while this is just while you are in public.
DeleteThe security cameras are there for “security purposes”. It’s there to use for help when there is a high speed chase and they lose the car. It’s there to analyze crime if they need to see where the criminal ran to. I agree with the chief of police when he says that it is not big brother watching you. His job is hard enough as it is. He had to say it very bluntly to get it across to the public. If a crime is only happening in a certain area then there would be people who go over the tapes and look at the crime. It’s as simple as that. The police will know if something is happeneing if they are there. A 911 call has to disbatch a patrol car or two when something happens. They can’t sit there and review every single tape. There’s just not enough time for that.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This can help the police prevent violent incidents. It can also help them keep cities safer and cleaner. Maybe it will help them focus on real and necessary illegal activities that they need to attend to. They will become more efficient.
DeleteI disagree with the police because they could say that they think a crime is happening and look at the cameras, they would always have access to them. Even if an incident is happening in the area they are spying on the people and trying to look into their lives. This is different from Big Brother because they are only using it when they have to and not using it all the time. The police would know that something is happening from the radio calls that send. They say the location they are at and what is happening in that area. Although they could see receive a tape, they would be able to look at it right away and could tell the other officers what the criminal are doing at that exact moment.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you and it seems that you're kind of contradicting yourself because in the beginning of your paragraph you seem to believe the police are lying about only using it when there is crime claiming, "they are spying on the people and trying to look into their lives" but then as your paragraph continues on you talk about how its "Different from Big Brother because they are only using it when they have to and not using it all the time".
DeleteI don’t believe that this is nearly as bad as big brother. The chief said that they are only using the cameras when crime is taking place so unless you do something really dumb and illegal you won’t be being monitored. The Chief could be lying and just saying that so that people don’t go rile up and rebel. But, if he isn’t lying I think that it’s a smart move because it will probably allow the police to catch a lot more criminals. As far as how they will know when a crime is happening i’m sure they will just monitor the area when a 911 call comes in. Or after a crime took place in a certain area they can relook the footage to see if they can identify who the crook was.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is not as bad as big brother, but if they are lying then we are being watched. This could be a stepping stone to big brother though. Surveillance is becoming extreme nowadays. Sooner or later we may end up being watched everywhere.
DeleteSome may argue that cameras put up by the Long Beach police department are safe options to lower the crime rate, and in a sense I do agree with that. On the other hand, it is a bit strange to walk around your city and have the feeling that you are always being watched. For some that may cause some paranoia, for others it can bring comfort. It is comfortable to know that if someone breaks into your car, you may be able to identify the criminal. On the other hand it can be taxing to realize that you are not allowed to make any mistakes in public, because the police department can track your every move. Personally I enjoy knowing that I can have some privacy, but for others they are willing to sacrifice privacy for safety. This is different from big brother because it is strictly used for crime to give officers a quicker response time.
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