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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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6 cameras will now watch us!

General6 cameras will now watch us!
Today police completed the installation process of surveillance cameras around the old capital. Six cameras were put in place and the software drivers installed at central monitoring command at Racoon Street.
 
Officer-in-Charge Superintendent Edward Broaster gave Amandala a tour of the central command and a very impressive operation, which is totally under the command and control of police.
 
The six locations, mostly on the Southside of Belize City, are at the foot of the Pound Yard Bridge, corner of George and Dean Streets, corner Fabers Road and Central American Boulevard, south end of the Bel-China Bridge, corner of Kraal and Haynes Streets, and at the BelCan roundabout. 
 
Opposition Leader Dean O. Barrow wasn’t too excited about the BelChina Bridge location, as this is the location of the Opposition United Democratic Party’s headquarters. Barrow made disparaging comments about this on a morning show. But Superintendent Broaster told us that police put one there to deter crime, and nothing else.
 
Broaster says the project has been in the works for the past two years, and he is excited about it. He has been with the project from day one and, he said, with control of the hard drive and passwords, the integrity of the system lies squarely in his hands.
 
The reach of these cameras is incredible, with a 360 degree rotation and for a few city blocks with maximum clarity and high definition. And, according to Superintendent Broaster, legislation is in the works to further facilitate the admissibility of its evidence in the courts.
 
Police say that as crime moves out of the targeted areas, they will follow the crime hotspots with the other cameras that are already on order.
 
At the location of the cameras are “drop down” panic buttons that anyone can press when police attention is needed. That button, at the base of the camera position, will alert central command on Racoon Street where the equipment is housed.
 
Police are getting technical assistance from other police departments in the region on the project.
 
The project is a puzzling one, however. The ruling politicians are normally desperate to claim credit for any little thing done in these general election times, but no PUP politician has stepped forward to claim the glory.
 
Additionally, the project was not discussed with citizens of the city, and the police have not been able to offer any believable assurances that they will use the spycams “just for the prevention of crime.”
 
Then, there is the prospect of the invasion of privacy. The cameras are able to zoom into the bedrooms and homes of citizens, and there are no mechanisms in place to guarantee that the camera operators keep their camera lens out of people’s personal lives.
 
Lastly, why now, just before a bitterly contested general elections? Could not the police have waited three or four more days to install their toys? This leads citizens to believe that the cameras, while certainly useful in the prevention of crime, have been installed more for sinister purposes similar to those of the characters in George Orwell’s novel – 1984 (published in 1949). “Big Brother,” it seems, “is watching us now.”

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