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What, Me Worry?Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 01:51 AMIn today's tribute to George Orwell, Harold Hurtt, the police chief of Houston, Texas, has proposed placing surveillance cameras in apartment complexes, downtown streets, shopping malls, and private homes to help fight crime as the city copes with a shortage of police officers. "I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?" says Chief Hurtt. I worry because there are cases like this in Great Britain, where trained personnel decided to use such cameras to amuse themselves. I worry because cameras emplaced in residences very likely violate the 4th Amendment and its protections against unreasonable searches of person or property. A camera mounted on a lamppost could effectively look into the trunk of my car, whereas a patrol officer would not be able to do so without probable cause. I worry because of the automatic bias in placing cameras in 'high crime' areas. Thus, a low-income family is entitled to less privacy than a more affluent family living in a better neighborhood. That I am doing nothing wrong does not mean I invite people to look in my front window. I'm fairly sure Chief Hurtt isn't about to take down his drapes and put in a screen door, either.
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