Privacy in an age of video surveillance

When it comes to video surveillance and its increasing scope, security and law enforcement officials have great stories.

Facts

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Merchants, law enforcement officials, citizens and others are using video and audio surveillance in more and varied ways. The trending smart surveillance and video analytics global market, at $13.5 billion in 2012, is expected to be more than $35 billion by 2020.

There was the time, according to Bill Stone of ADT Security Services, a business owner was watching over his store via a camera linked to his home laptop and noticed a customer swipe a lighter when the clerk turned to snag a pack of cigarettes. The owner immediately called the store and told the clerk to charge the customer for the lighter in addition to the cigarettes. In other cases, officers tell of cutting through heated arguments when witnesses surface with cellphone videos.

To be sure, the Internet, mobile devices and advanced surveillance equipment have helped the good guys keep a better eye on the bad guys. But, these days, such sophisticated and abundant technology also means all people are being watched and recorded much more often and in many more places.

You likely are being recorded walking into stores and banks, gassing up vehicles, visiting parks and handing over your license and registration during a traffic stop. “Video analytics” more and more often automatically analyze camera feeds to count people, register temperature changes and, via statistical algorithms, identify suspicious behavior. A New York Times/CBS News poll revealed that 78 percent of Americans welcome video monitoring.

For those who sell the equipment, this is big business: A ReportsNReports analysis estimated the size of the smart surveillance and video analytics global market at $13.5 billion in 2012; it is expected to reach more than $35 billion by 2020.

Add in the eyes on social media — from Facebook and Snapchat to YouTube and Twitter — and the days of complete privacy are a thing of the past.

“NO SECRETS”

Robert Allan, an employee at Tattoo Gallery, in Pine Plaza a few steps from the Ocala Police Department, is not fazed by having a surveillance camera trained on him at work.

“I appreciate having it. It keeps everything safe, and there are no secrets,” Allan said.

The shop has about 20 security cameras that watch and record everything that happens — except in the bathroom and piercing room.

In a business where clients sometimes ask the artists to tattoo sensitive body parts, it is important to have cameras watching every move so there’s no misunderstanding, Allan said.

“I’d rather have it than not,” added the shop’s manager, Jayson Duncan.

Duncan said another reason they have cameras in the building is the shop is a “cash-based business,” and employees need to see everything occurring around them.

Allan said the surveillance system also helps with their insurance carrier in the event there is a dispute; they receive a discount because of the added layer of protection.

Inside Ocala city limits, surveillance cameras are mounted on utility polls, roof tops and other areas.

Mayor Kent Guinn said the cameras have been in place for years. He said city officials are not spying on people, but that the cameras are useful in catching people committing crimes and identifying traffic accident hot spots.

“I don’t feel we’re trampling on anyone’s rights,” Guinn said. “We’re just monitoring criminal activities.”

ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Law enforcement has long used a variety of surveillance mechanisms. The latest trend is equipping officers with body cameras.

Lt. Terry Holland of the Belleview Police Department said his agency has only had body cameras for two months but that the number of complaints against officers have become “almost non-existent.”

Holland said the body cameras are particularly useful during an active investigation.

“At the crime scene, the officer can walk around and take pictures and tape interviews,” he said.

OPD also uses surveillance capabilities to ensure officers do their jobs effectively.

OPD spokeswoman Sgt. Angy Scroble said when officers get inside their marked patrol vehicles and turn on the computer, a signal from the laptop is sent to the communication center, where the officer’s activities can be tracked and monitored.

“It’s safety, as well as an accountability measure,” Scroble said.

If, for example, an officer is on a call and no one has heard from him or her in an appropriate amount of time, another officer can investigate to see why the initial officer has not responded. In terms of accountability, officials can see the different areas an officer has visited and the calls they have worked.

Each in-car camera can also serve as a body camera.

Recently, Scroble said, an officer who had the green light at the intersection of Interstate 75 and West State Road 40 was hit when a motorist ran the red light. The camera clearly showed the motorist violated the officer’s right of way.

“We’re a walking, talking public record,” Scroble said.

PUBLIC/PRIVATE

There are varying state and national laws that address video and audio taping, both publicly and privately.

Scroble said it is not against the law for a citizen to snap a picture of law enforcement officials or videotape them while doing their jobs.

“We’re subjected to being more video-taped than anyone else because of what we do and the powers of the law that we’re entrusted with,” she said.

In a recent MCSO case, however, following a supervisor’s review of surveillance images from a business in Marion Oaks, five deputies wound up being suspended without pay.

At the conclusion of a drug operation, MCSO officials were closing in on Derrick Price, the alleged ring leader, when Price saw authorities on his home surveillance video. Price ran to a business area less than 2 miles away, where he allegedly surrendered. During the routine review of surveillance images associated with the case, the supervisor raised concerns about excessive use of force. After an internal review, the deputies were suspended. Federal agencies are continuing to investigate the case.

WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

Dennis Mancino, CEO of HDVIEW360 , said their customers want surveillance cameras for several reasons, including keeping an eye on employees, who may be misbehaving or stealing, and as a deterrent for robbers.

He estimated that 60 percent of people who install security alarms at businesses and homes also want security cameras.

“That’s huge when you have more than one business. It’s a big plus,” Mancino said.

With the technology rapidly changing, Stone said, cameras can range from as small as a match box to as large as one-liter soda bottle.

The higher-end systems, of course, are the most effective. As proof, he tells another story about one of his video systems catching a bad guy. The clerk, he said, was robbed at gunpoint by a masked man. But law enforcement officials identified the suspect by zooming in on the surveillance images and documenting the unique tattoo on the gunman’s wrist.

For more information please visit HDVIEW360.com for more details

source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20150620/articles/150629972