Americans are trading in their Bill of Rights for a bill of goods, the American Civil Liberties Union warned Sunday.
Cities and counties, taking a cue -- and billions of dollars -- from the federal government, are buying into the idea that more surveillance translates into safer communities and a more secure nation, the group said.
And it's happening under the noses of a largely acquiescent public, said Barbara Zerbe Macnab, chairwoman of the ACLU's Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-Kensington chapter.
"There is no public outrage," she said. "That's what frightens me most."
Macnab was on a panel with Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and ACLU attorney Nicole Ozer, reflecting on the theme "Government Surveillance 2007 -- 'Where Has Your Privacy Gone?' " as part of the local chapter's annual meeting at the Double Tree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina.
McLaughlin -- whose City Council recently allocated, despite her objections, $4 million to install 113 surveillance cameras -- attributed the increased use of the devices in America's public spaces to a "knee-jerk quick fix."
She spoke of a culture of fear stoked by a federal government less interested in safe neighborhoods than in collecting massive amounts of data on ordinary residents going about legal activities.
For the money, Richmond could have hired 100 community workers as peace-builders with far greater impact than "these intimidating machines," she argued.
"The presence of cameras is destructive to the
open and free society we want in our country," McLaughlin said. "The electronic vigilantes do not help law enforcement solve crimes."
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Macnab was on a panel with Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and ACLU attorney Nicole Ozer, reflecting on the theme "Government Surveillance 2007 -- 'Where Has Your Privacy Gone?' " as part of the local chapter's annual meeting at the Double Tree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina.
McLaughlin -- whose City Council recently allocated, despite her objections, $4 million to install 113 surveillance cameras -- attributed the increased use of the devices in America's public spaces to a "knee-jerk quick fix."
She spoke of a culture of fear stoked by a federal government less interested in safe neighborhoods than in collecting massive amounts of data on ordinary residents going about legal activities.
For the money, Richmond could have hired 100 community workers as peace-builders with far greater impact than "these intimidating machines," she argued.
"The presence of cameras is destructive to the
open and free society we want in our country," McLaughlin said. "The electronic vigilantes do not help law enforcement solve crimes."">
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