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NSW Police Launch Internet Dob-In-A-Criminal Scheme
Posted by Nathan Taylor at 2:42 PM on March 25, 2008
In a move that seems more than a little reminiscent of the Stasi, the NSW Police have announced that they are setting up a Web site that encourages people to take and send in footage of lawbreakers in action, or so News.com.au is reporting.
The story is a little light on details, but it appears that since the Cronulla riots, the NSW Police have been working on Project VIEW, which is a plan to develop ways of harnessing the vast amount of AV material and pictures that are out there, but unsorted, unmanaged and unknown. They'd like to get the help of people who run CCTV cameras, have taken film or photos with mobile phones or otherwise have access to evidence of criminal behaviour. They plan to set up systems so that the cameras are catalogued and the footage accessible to the police.
It's a scheme that I find more than a little worrying (as you might have guessed by the opening sentence of this post), although I also believe that it is possible to strike a balance. Here's hoping that the NSW Police Force can do just that. [News.com.au]
Comments
Mr. Crash
Posted March 25, 2008 4:42 PM
Great - so we're going to end up like in England...
Do people have permission to take photographs of others in a public space without their consent?
If not, this could be a point of contention.
It is different in places where your on private property but i often walk past cameras peering out into the open and wonder this.
Keyx
Posted March 25, 2008 9:00 PM
as far as i know as long as you are in a public place it is legal for any one to take photos of you. you only need permission or a model release if the photographer aims to make money with the photo