Starting Thursday night, if you’re under 18 and out on the street after 10pm, you could be subject to arrest. It’s part of an omnibus Crime Emergency! Bill that seeks to curb some of the violence that’s been sparked in DC over the last month or so. Mayor Williams wants to extend the bill’s provisions past the 90 day limit in the text of the bill, which would also include giving local police immediate access to juvenile records and put surveillance cameras in residential neighborhoods.
Folks, is it really necessary that we become a police state to curb the crime? Will cameras and “citizen oversight” in our neighborhoods make us any safer, or just give the Police the power to selectively enforce the laws? Why do we have to give in to the ubiquitous cameras and surveillance devices? Do we really need more Big Brother in our lives?
For those of you keeping score at home, Adrian Fenty voted against this bill, citing disagreements with whether or not this will actually make things better, and Linda Cropp voted for this bill, believing that it will be the solution to our woes. Let’s see if I can distill this for you: Fenty, for liberty. Cropp, for police state.
Gotcha.
Results are mixed on the actual cameras themselves: This article claims that the cameras are effective in stopping crime, this one says “Studies have found that, when there is some reduction in crime rates in areas with CCTV, the crime is actually displaced rather than prevented.”
Are we willing to trade essential liberty in exchange for temporary security?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
