The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allocating millions of dollars to local governments nationwide for purchasing and installing high-tech video camera networks to combat terrorism and crack down on crime, according to a newspaper report.
The department has granted nearly $23 billion in federal grants to local governments for equipment and training since 2003. Both small and large cities are taking part in the offer to bulk up their surveillance systems.
In the last month, cities that have moved forward on plans for surveillance networks financed by DHS include St. Paul, Minn., which received a $1.2 million grant for 60 cameras downtown; Madison, Wis., which is buying a 32-camera network with a $388,000 grant; and Pittsburgh, which is adding 83 cameras to its downtown with a $2.58 million grant, according to The Boston Globe.
New York, Baltimore and Chicago are also using federal money to build massive surveillance systems that may link thousands of privately owned security cameras, the newspaper reported.
Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the newspaper DHS is the primary driver in spreading surveillance cameras, making their adoption more attractive to city and state leaders by offering federal money.
Senator Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, recently proposed an amendment that would require DHS to develop a “national strategy” for the use of surveillance cameras, from more effectively using them to thwart terrorism to establishing rules to protect civil liberties.
“A national strategy for [surveillance cameras] use would help officials at the federal, state and local levels use [surveillance] systems effectively to protect citizens, while at the same time making sure that appropriate civil liberties protections are implemented for the use of cameras and recorded data,” Lieberman told the newspaper.
