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

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Sat Jul 21 2001 - 10:54:11 PDT

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    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
    
    ---
    
    From: "crdrapes" <crdrapesat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    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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