The 24-hour network of surveillance cameras that monitors
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is expanding to cover three high-
crime corridors and the Canton waterfront. Security
integrator Tele-Tector of Maryland Inc. is scheduled to
install 74 cameras, once the deal with the city is
negotiated, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Light-duty officers and community volunteers will monitor the systems at police districts. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) believes the camera system infringes on privacy rights. City officials say the cameras will only monitor public spaces.
“The opposite of the fear of Big Brother is true,” says Kristen Mahoney, director of the Baltimore Police Department’s grants and government relations section. “I’ve had a number of private groups asking if their neighborhood could be the next to get the cameras.” A grant of $800,000 from the federal government was approved and will expand the harbor coverage, including the Canton waterfront.
