In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, which saw the use of footage from cell phones and closed circuit TV cameras to help identify the suspected bombers, pundits and elected officials alike have been singing the praises of urban camera networks — and suggesting that ever more such government surveillance is the key to stopping future attacks.
But a closer look at the facts suggests just the opposite: Dispersed “Little Brother” monitoring by private cameras can provide many of the benefits of centralized “Big Brother” surveillance by governments — but without the public expense or risks to civil liberties….
Advocates of state-power and state-solutions would be remiss, however, if they didn’t sieze on (on distort) the crimes in Boston as an excuse for a broader, government-run surveillance network.
Via The False Security of Surveillance Cameras | Cato Institute.