In More Cities, A Camera On Every Corner, Park And Sidewalk
This report is part of the series NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century.
Surveillance cameras, and the sophisticated software packages that go with them, have become big business. Many small- and medium-sized cities across American are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on cameras and software to watch their residents.
These systems use some of the same kinds of technology the New York Police Department has deployed in lower Manhattan to catch terrorists. But many cities are now using the technology for policing as mundane as preventing vandalism at parks.
A case in point: Elk Grove, Calif. Elk Grove is a sleepy suburb of Sacramento with a modest crime rate. It's bordered to the south and west by wide-open ranch land. Last week I found myself sitting on a swing in Miwok Park, watching toddlers, kids and dog walkers. It couldn't have been a sleepier scene.
Nonetheless, I was being watched. There was a camera right above my head.
"I didn't even know that one was there," said Chelsea Yokkum, who was playing with her son.
Nearby, a couple was lying on a picnic blanket, snuggling. When I walked up, interrupting, they packed up to go. They said they knew there was a camera above their head, but that they had no idea what happened to the video feed.
Enlarge image i