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Big Brother Comes to Ballard

(35 posts)

Started 3 months ago by SunsetHillMarauder
Latest reply from seattletree

SunsetHillMarauder

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http://www.myballard.com/2013/02/05/ballard-waterfront-cameras-to-be-installed-for-maritime-surveillance/

Anyone else see this article on the front page yet? Just wait about a decade and we'll be
just like China! Gotta crack down on those missing link dissidents!

Posted 3 months ago #
great idea

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funny that they say these are to “monitor the maritime area,” then describe how they will all be at Golden Gardens (30 cameras!)

I know there is a lot of crime at that park (seagulls getting shot, pistol-whippings, etc.) but this seems a bit invasive to me. more so than the himalayan blackberry even.

Posted 3 months ago #
Edog

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In this day and age its safe to assume everything you do out of your house is being filmed. It might not be the case, but its not far off.

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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I wonder how many times the poor lost student from Bellingham will be on the video;)

Posted 3 months ago #
teigyr

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And those poor people who get accosted while sitting in their car.

Posted 3 months ago #
PDaddymom

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BH - the poor lost student from BHam - is she a smallish girl long brown hair (when I saw this girl it was in two braids wearing blue jeans and worn tennis shoes),and carries a sign that says she is stranded and in need of money for car tabs and a drivers license? I saw a girl with this description at the corner of 15th and market last night. thought it was a strange request to make on the street like that.

Posted 3 months ago #
MidWest

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British guy reacts to surveillance cameras by putting on alien suit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyj6SIz_Yhs

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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PDaddy

I am referring to a recurring story that comes up in the forum about a girl at GG claiming to be out of gas with no money and trying to get back to Bellingham. in reference to the car tab story that reminds me of something I saw at the QFC in Shoreline years ago. When we got to the store there was a woman dressed down and looking homeless begging for money. We had shopped and when we where leaving saw her getting into a brand new car that still had the sale sticker on it. I wonder how many people that are in good financial shape try scams like that.

Posted 3 months ago #
ynh98107

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Strong and peaceful, wise and brave;
Fighting the fight for the whole world to save.
We the people will ceaselessly strive
To keep our great revolution alive.
Unfurl the banners, look at the screen;
Never before has such glory been seen.

My Ballard, My Ballard, My Ballard, 'tis for thee.
Every deed, every thought 'tis for thee.
Every deed, every thought 'tis for thee.

Posted 3 months ago #
shelley

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Edog is correct. There are more cameras than you know. I've had three inside my business for at least 8 years now, and just installed (a year ago) a couple outside. For me the outside cameras are cheap compared to the cost of graffiti cleanup or replacing a broken window. Not that they will prevent it, but at least there is information to provide to the police department. The inside cameras helped the SPD pick up a break-in in suspect and get the stolen merch back. I feel very funny about the outside cameras because of privacy concerns, but summer 2011 with 1 broken window, a swastika scratched into another, two graffiti incidents, I lost a lot of money, just hitting the per incident deductibles.

Posted 3 months ago #
Ernie

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More than the privacy issue (which is valid, but that ship has already sailed.....) I'm more concerned with whether or not this is the best use for the money. The common denominator of all this surveillance stuff, drones, red-light cameras, these cameras, etc. is that they all represent public money going to private companies for fancy toys that have a debatable effect on actual public safety.

I guess I'm just old-school and would rather see more actual humans policing the streets, instead of expensive cameras that are going to be basically looking at nothing 99% of the time, while some private firm probably gets a regular check every month for "maintenance and support" or some such hooey.

Posted 3 months ago #
feeltheburn

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The only thing wrong with the cameras is that there are not enough of them.

Posted 3 months ago #
Cate

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+1 Ernie.
Cameras do not deter crime, they only give us something to look at after the fact. The actual presence of people, civilians or law enforcement, can act as a preventative.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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If the cameras could tazer someone... now that would be something!

Posted 3 months ago #
Ernie

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Looks like the Mayor read my post!

Mayor McGinn confirms in a statement: "Today I spoke with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz and we agreed that it was time to end the unmanned aerial vehicle program, so that SPD can focus its resources on public safety and the community building work that is the department’s priority. The vehicles will be returned to the vendor.”

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/07/mayor-will-kill-spds-drone-program

ALCU says that the cameras are the next fight, let's see if they can get a similar result.

Posted 3 months ago #
Ballardemician

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Serious question: we all generally think it's okay if a cop sees a crime for the police to enforce against it. How is it that more crimes seen by a cop through a camera are not fair game, but if we doubled police presence those extra crimes witnessed would be just fine?

Is it the addition of technology? Is it okay for a cop to use binoculars? Wear glasses?

Is it that the cameras see you doing nothing wrong? Cops see you doing nothing wrong too.

Is it that the camera is always there and the cop isn't? This seems silly -- based on a premise that there must be an element of chance involved to make policing fair?

I'm generally a civil libertarian, but fail to see how police observing for criminal activity through a camera is significantly different than in person observation.

Posted 3 months ago #
VeganBiker

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Ballardemician - I agree with you, I said in another post that if you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about from these cameras. The cameras can help to stop crime, find criminals and help the police do the job we pay them to do. Far to often, lately, the public is not willing to pay extra for law enforcement to do the job that we need them to do. They can only do so much on a limited budget. The bad guys out there don't care about any of this unless it stops them doing bad things. Cameras and surveillance drones can help catch bad people, I am all for that.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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Lawyers naturally staged a legitimate defense based on the clarity, or lack of, in the video and pictures taken. Hence, only high dollar cameras render usable photos and probably only high dollar crimes render legitimate response. Gotta love crapitalism.

Posted 3 months ago #
MidWest

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"I said in another post that if you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about from these cameras"

Easy for a white, heterosexual male to say.

The issue isn't that simple. Germans were cowed into having that idea, as long as you were not Jewish, gay, non-white, Roma, mentally ill, etc. You know, "useless bread eaters".

Slippery slope there. What if Fred Phelps gets to determine what is "wrong"?

Yet again, not simple.

Posted 3 months ago #
great idea

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as much as these bother me, I don't mind putting more surveillance in school zones to catch errant speeders.

Posted 3 months ago #
eric

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thank you, Midwest. that phrase (if you aren't doing anything wrong there's nothing to worry about) makes my skin crawl.

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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I am all for the cameras on school buses that catch drivers illegally passing when the red lights are flashing.

Posted 3 months ago #
great idea

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I wonder if they'll let the dog-catcher review footage to then mail tickets to dog-owners not following the leash/scoop laws.

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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Are police on horseback required to scoop or shovel?

Posted 3 months ago #
VeganBiker

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BH - technically I think they are and apparently, if you check the West Seattle blog, (they keep the hoses stabled over there) someone will come out and clean it up if you call them. I have seen some hoses with a little bag on the rear end for poop.
However, horse droppings are great for the garden. When I was growing up in Wales, anytime there was horse poop on the street people would be out with shovels and pails and they would put it on the gardens.

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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Different strokes for different folks !!!

When I was growing up kids would run out to the street for the ice cream truck;)

Posted 3 months ago #
Ernie

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Midwest +2! (+1 for the comment, and +1 for the floating Zardoz head)

Posted 3 months ago #
onederfullone

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"More than the privacy issue (which is valid, but that ship has already sailed.....) I'm more concerned with whether or not this is the best use for the money"

I don't care for any money to go for sub-par public education, public union monopolies in general, or drone strikes. Well, life is a real bitch, aint it.

Unless you are just another tool.

"Easy for a white, heterosexual male to say."

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Amazing how idiots can do a Nazi kick-step in their sleep, and blame it on race.

I blame it on ignorance, apathy, arrogance. In that order.

"Slippery slope there. What if Fred Phelps gets to determine what is "wrong"?"

We've got that for president, are you happy yet?

Maybe the Media just isn't selling you enough stupid yet. /sarcasm.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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Asinine doesn't qualify as cryptic Onedy.

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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Say cheese ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH9WnSOISv0

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50881330/ns/local_news-seattle_wa/#.USWGxjeaLEE

Seattle's security camera network has now reached beyond the port and waterfront. Earlier this week, Seattle police installed more cameras at two city bridges and now four cameras in the downtown area.

Posted 2 months ago #
Mondoman

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Yep, apparently the cameras were installed on the Fremont and Ballard bridges, at the Locks, and at Alki. They're not supposed to be turned on until the City Council approves a policy for their use.

Posted 2 months ago #
Cate

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They paid for and installed the cameras before they had a policy allowing their use? Sigh.

Posted 2 months ago #
Ernie

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I got the impression that they didn't worry themselves over a policy for their use, until the public started inquiring about the policy for their use.

Posted 2 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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Lets make a realistic remote controlled Loch Ness Monster and have some fun with the cameras!! hehe

Posted 2 months ago #
seattletree

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Hell yeah @ BuffaloHawk

Posted 2 months ago #