[A-List] Panopticon II

["bon moun" <sherrynstan@xxxxxxx>]

Published on Saturday, December 21, 2002 by the Associated Press

Police Surveillance Cameras to Be Used During Washington Protests
by Derrill Holly

WASHINGTON - Police intend to use more than a dozen automated surveillance
cameras to keep an eye on large demonstrations planned in the nation's
capital next month.

The cameras, monitored at police command centers, will keep tabs on
anti-war protests planned for the weekend of Jan. 18-19 and the Jan. 22
"March for Life," an anti-abortion commemoration of the 30th anniversary of
the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Officials said Friday they were publicizing the plans to comply with an
ordinance passed in November by the District of Columbia Council. It
requires advanced public notice when the tactic is to be used.

"The major advantage is to deploy police resources if you see any problems
developing, if you need more people one place or fewer people another
place," said councilwoman Kathleen Patterson. Besides the notice provision,
district law requires that signs be posted to inform the public that
certain areas in or near downtown Washington can be under camera
surveillance.
"I don't think the police ought to be taking video of peaceful
demonstrators when there's no hint of lawbreaking," said Art Spitzer, legal
director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Capital Area
Chapter. The ACLU worries that cameras will deter participation in what
they see as expressions of First Amendment rights to freedom of speech,
association and expression.

Police concede they have no information to indicate any plans for civil
disobedience or violence.

The cameras transmit images of the areas they are trained on and are not
connected to videotaping equipment. Kevin Morison, spokesman for the
Metropolitan Police Department, said the cameras do not employ face
recognition or biometrics technology to help identify specific individuals.

"Big events like this that attract people to the nation's capital could
either themselves become targets of terrorists, or terrorists could use
those major events as cover to launch some sort of attack," Morison said.

"We expect tens of thousands of people to be coming out Jan. 18 to oppose
this war drive," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a lawyer with the
Partnership for Civil Justice, a nonprofit lawyers' group. "We hear from
people who are outraged by the surveillance cameras."

For nearly 30 years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Va., and the
archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington have organized at least 10,000
young people each year for the "March for Life" on the National Mall.

"It's sad that the government would feel we're at a point" at which cameras
are required, said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of
Washington. "We're in a time of great national distress, and we do need to
trust in our government."

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press
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