Chicago, IL—Surveillance cameras will be doubled for Chicago’s public transportation system. That was today’s announcement from city officials as a treatment for the rash of cell phone and IPod robberies. The wonderful thing about surveillance cameras is not their effectiveness to reduce crime but the political contributions generated by the contractors providing them do great things for re-election campaigns.
Cameras are really not that helpful. There are thousands of images of dangerous criminals that never get identified. Video recordings are worthless in and of themselves.
Most people are unaware that a picture or video in and off itself is hearsay and therefore inadmissible as courtroom evidence without an, eyewitness and or DNA evidence. No jury will never be given the task to determine if the subject in the video is the suspect charged with a crime absent the testimony of a human at the scene.
One by one traffic photo Robocams are being removed from American streets as the cases generated are challenged in higher courts by accused violators. Local judges appointed by politicians will nearly always support the photo extortion schemes created by their political sponsors wanting to fund the fat salaries and pensions of government parasites. The higher courts are more likely to follow the Constitution rather than the desires of the politicians.
The fact is cameras protect no one or for that matter anyone’s property. People with the right to meaningful self-defense or sworn armed cops can at least stop crimes.
Try telling some young dark-skinned criminal wearing a hoodie that the cameras will single him out as the offender and you will hear his cruel laughter as he brazenly unleashes his carnage on some innocent victim.
In Chicago it’s not just the dark skinned hoodie-wearing thugs committing crimes but the politicians inventing reasons to give taxpayer’s hard earned cash to their corrupt contractor pals.
Our new Superintendent
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIX4j2sormY
It never ceases to amaze me that the politicians in this corrupt city of Chicago continually do silly stuff like announcing that they are installing more cameras in an effort to prevent crime. Like you said, cameras do not prevent crime. You need cops on the street to actually handcuff the bad guys. The people who keep electing these idiots are the real fools. Unfortunately, they get the police department that they deserve, and that currently is an extremely understaffed force with bad morale. I feel sorry for the honest good citizens of Chicago.
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteIf these cameras are NOT admissible in court then how are people losing their red light and speed camera cases in the courts?
More trouble at city warehouse where $20K of cable was stolen
ReplyDeleteYet another security breach was reported at a municipal warehouse on the city’s South Side that earlier this year saw two tons of copper-lined cable vanish in a still-unsolved theft.
Days after the Better Government Association publicized the cable heist at 940 W. Exchange — which is home base for city crews that install and maintain security systems at local government facilities — workers left open a garage door when they departed for the day.
Glad the article mentioned the political contribution aspect of the story. It's not about security, it's about kickbacks to the pols. How much money do you think is changing hands for the TSA x-ray machines? Isn't that Chertoffs' company? You go from head of Homeland Security to make gazillions off gullable taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteThe cameras in Chicago are about 99.8 worthless.Its all feel good smoke and mirrors and a chance to hand out some contracts to your buddies.
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