FC: Facecam update: Tampa splits 3-3 on cams; Casinos experiment

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Politech archive on surveillance cameras:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=cameras

Politech archive on Tampa's cameras:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=ybor

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From: "crdrapes" <crdrapes () ix netcom com>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: RE: Florida cameras: baynews9.com article
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 17:19:00 -0600
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http://baynews9.com/newsstory.asp?storyname=2001/July/19/ybor

CITY COUNCIL SPLITS ON YBOR CAMERAS, GRECO TO HAVE LAST WORD.
The Tampa City Council took a fully-informed look at Ybor City's
controversial high-tech face-scanning software this afternoon.

The council held a public hearing on the matter and there was emotional
debate on both sides of the issue. When the dust settled, the council split
down the middle with a 3-3 vote on whether or not to do away with the
face-scanning software. The deciding vote will be cast by Tampa Mayor, Dick
Greco, who has said he favors the controversial surveillance system. Greco
is on vacation and wasn't immediately available for comment on today's vote.
Late last week, several members of the council expressed alarm at the
presence of the system after noting they "had no idea" they had voted for
it. The outcry prompted today's hearing and subsequent vote.

[...]

*********

http://www.sptimes.com/News/072001/Columns/Arguments__pro_and_co.shtml
Arguments, pro and con, on Ybor City spy in the sky
2001-07-20 05:42:24

By HOWARD TROXLER
St. Petersburg Times, published July 20, 2001

By my count, 19 citizens addressed the Tampa City Council on Thursday on 
the topic of using face-recognition software to scan the public streets of 
Ybor City. Of these, 15 spoke against the system, and four spoke in favor. 
By my count, 19 citizens addressed the Tampa City Council on Thursday on 
the topic of using face-recognition software to scan the public streets of 
Ybor City. Of these, 15 spoke against the system, and four spoke in favor. 
Of the four in favor, one was from the New Jersey company that is trying to 
sell the system. One was from another security company in Pinellas County. 
One was a self-described housewife who said people who lead "immoral lives" 
shouldn't be on the street anyway. The fourth was an energetic gentleman 
who alleged that some of the anti-camera speakers were "on dope." In the 
end, the City Council split 3-3 on whether to ask Mayor Dick Greco to kill 
the experiment. The council will vote again in two weeks when the seventh 
member, Charlie Miranda, will cast the potentially deciding vote.

[...]

*********

http://www.montrealgazette.com/editorial/pages/010719/5021112.html
Privacy law will not protect petty criminals
2001-07-20 05:22:20

A July 17 report in The Gazette suggested that the new federal Personal 
Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act could permit a robber 
to walk into a bank or convenience store and demand that the surveillance 
camera be turned off prior to committing his crime. The new federal 
private-sector privacy law does no such thing. On the contrary, it draws a 
careful balance between personal privacy rights and the legitimate 
information needs of a modern society.

[...]

*********

http://www.sptimes.com/News/071901/Floridian/Click_BEEP_Face_captu.shtml
Click. BEEP! Face captured
2001-07-19 05:42:33

By LANE DeGREGORY
St. Petersburg Times, published July 19, 2001

Out for a night of fun in Ybor City? You're being watched by 36 unblinking 
eyes. And one might take a picture of your face to see if you look like a 
criminal.

[...]

*********

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20010717-9999_1n17cameras.html
Smart cameras at casinos spark a debate on privacy
2001-07-18 05:50:25

By Chet Barfield
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 17, 2001

Most casino gamblers realize they are being watched by hidden cameras. But 
many may not know about technology that analyzes facial features as 
distinctly as a fingerprint. California casinos are increasingly using 
surveillance cameras enhanced with facial-recognition technology called 
biometrics.

[...]

Most of Biometrica's 120 client casinos get a computerized list of 
"unwanteds" that Nevada casinos have passed around in hard-copy form for 
decades. The database, updated monthly, has up to 1,500 photo profiles, 
including names, methods and accomplices. The casinos also get software to 
create their own in-house lists.

[...]

*********

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/31646_videoed.shtml
Cameras may help identify profiling cases
2001-07-18 05:37:53

Cameras may help identify profiling cases
Wednesday, July 18, 2001

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Considering the seeming or real proliferation of citizen complaints about 
racial profiling, the Seattle City Council's unanimous decision to 
experiment with video cameras in police cars comes none too soon. The third 
and most credible set of eyes -- to be provided via non-stop electronic 
surveillance -- promises to discount or prove allegations from minority 
communities that police are stopping people of color solely because they 
are not white.

[...]

**********

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,167846,00.html
Tampa Gets Ready For Its Closeup
2001-07-17 05:07:03

Monday, Jul. 16, 2001
Tampa Gets Ready For Its Closeup
Thanks to the city's latest crime prevention program, Tampa residents
and visitors are captured on film -- not by friends or loved ones, but
by automated cameras

[...]

**********




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