Lancaster, Pa. turns its citizens into little Big Brothers

Little Lancaster, Pa. is following the lead of CCTV loving cities like London and New York City, but with a private citizen twist

Here in New York City, we’ve accepted the fact that surveillance cameras will be a part of our life. The NYPD’s Lower Manhattan Security Initiative will put the Big Apple on constant CCTV with over 3,000 cameras (though it’s not really just “lower” Manhattan anymore.) The security provided by the cameras makes sense to New Yorkers. NYC is a city with a significant amount of crime, a history of terrorist attacks, and millions of people cycling in and out of the city all the time.

But what about a place like Lancaster, Pennsylvania, population 55,000? You might think such a town could do without a “Ring of Steel,” but you would be wrong.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the town is jumping on the surveillance security bandwagon:

Some 165 closed-circuit TV cameras soon will provide live, round-the-clock scrutiny of nearly every street, park and other public space used by the 55,000 residents and the town’s many tourists. That’s more outdoor cameras than are used by many major cities, including San Francisco and Boston.

via Lancaster, Pa., keeps a close eye on itself – Los Angeles Times.

(I didn’t realize Lancaster was a hot tourist spot, but its website does proclaim it to be THE heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. If you’re looking to get away on an Amish buggy ride, Lancaster County may be your fantasy vacation destination.)

What’s interesting about Lancaster’s CCTV is that no one’s complaining. There are very few privacy advocates flipping out and no ACLU protests in front of city hall. Folks are pretty cool with the cameras. Keith Sadler, Lancaster’s police chief told the LA Times, “Years ago, there’s no way we could do this. It brings to mind Big Brother, George Orwell and ‘1984.’ It’s just funny how Americans have softened on these issues.”

Maybe it’s because there’s no government “Big Brother” involved. Lancaster is the only city to have private citizens man its round-the-clock camera feeds. Yup, that means the neighborhood ‘creepy guy’ could be the one to volunteer to keep his eye on the men, women, and children of Lancaster.

Unlike anywhere else, cash-strapped Lancaster outsourced its surveillance to a private nonprofit group that hires civilians to tilt, pan and zoom the cameras — and to call police if they spot suspicious activity. No government agency is directly involved.

Basically anyone can come off the streets of Lancaster and apply for a job as “a watcher.” The cameras are monitored by 10 full-time staffers and dozens of volunteers.

I don’t really feel reassured by this non-government approach myself. Volunteer voyeurs?  Who are these dudes? The LA Times writer spent the day with one of them: a 49 year-old in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury. Very Rear Window-esque.

On a recent afternoon, camera operator Doug Winglewich sat at a console and watched several dozen incoming video feeds plus a computer linked to the county 911 dispatcher. The cameras have no audio, so he works in silence.

Each time police logged a new 911 call, he punched up the camera closest to the address, and pushed a joystick to maneuver in for a closer look.

A license plate could be read a block away, and a face even farther could be identified. After four years in the job, Winglewich said, he “can pretty much tell right away if someone’s up to no good.”

He called up another feed and focused on a woman sitting on the curb. “You get to know people’s faces,” he said. “She’s been arrested for prostitution.”

Moments later, he called police when he spotted a man drinking beer in trouble-prone Farnum Park. Two police officers soon appeared on the screen, and as the camera watched, issued the man a ticket for violating a local ordinance.

If fellow Lancasterians are spotted on camera chatting with the village prostitute, the gossip might get out quickly. The camera staffers and volunteers are guided only by an inner moral compass for now:

No state or federal law governs use of public cameras, so [Joseph Morales, a city councilman who is executive director of the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition,] is drafting ethical guidelines for the coalition’s 10 staffers and dozen volunteers. Training has been “informal” until now, he said, but will be stiffened.

Morales said he tries to weed out voyeurs and anyone who might use the tapes for blackmail or other illegal activity.

“We are not directly responsible to law enforcement or government at this point,” he said. “So we have to be above suspicion ourselves.”

I hope Morales is trying really hard, because this is really disturbing.

My favorite part of this article is that it ends with a quote from a man who knows how to keep our nation safe: Jack Bauer…. Okay, not actually the protagonist of 24, but a local Lancaster businessman by the same name.

Jack Bauer, owner of the city’s largest beer and soft drink distributor, calls the network “a great thing.” His store hasn’t been robbed, he said, since four cameras went up nearby.

“There’s nothing wrong with instilling fear,” he said.

Fear of the cameras or fear of those sitting behind them?

(Hattip: Thanks, Julie!)

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