The mayor of West Palm Beach, Fla., is expressing opposition to her city’s police force’s plan to install an extensive public video surveillance system. The West Palm Beach Police department intends to install four high-tech surveillance cameras shortly with an eye toward an additional 100 during the next two years.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel told the Palm Beach Post that she opposes cameras just for the sake of having cameras. The mayor says that she will try to keep an open mind, but she has asked for proof that public cameras actually deter crime before she supports the additional video equipment.

Despite Mayor Frankel’s current position on the issue, she maintains that having public cameras could be worth the “infringement on privacy” that would result. Others believe that public cameras in West Palm Beach will erode the public’s confidence in a reasonable expectation of privacy, possibly resulting in their removal. Opponents say this would be a waste of taxpayer money.

The Mayor believes that the right to privacy and the need for better security is a balancing act and that it would be difficult to justify their use unless they would have an impact on crime in West Palm Beach. Once the first four cameras are installed, the commission will debate the issue and a decision will be forthcoming.

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