Aclu Report Details 'Unregulated' Nature of Chicago's Growing Surveillance Camera System, Calls for Moratorium On New Cameras

U.S. Newswire › February 08, 2011

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Summary

CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With early voting already underway in the mayoral and aldermanic elections, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today called on the new city government to adopt a moratorium on the placement of new surveillance cameras in the City of Chicago. The call came as part of the release of the first large-scale, independent study of Chicago's integrated surveillance camera system, deemed by a former Homeland Security Secretary to be the most "extensive and integrated" in the nation. The report is titled "Chicago's video surveillance cameras: A pervasive and unregulated threat to our privacy."

In addition to seeking the moratorium, the report contains a list of recommendations -- focusing on the most invasive of the surveillance camera system features in Chicago (including facial recognition, automatic tracking, and zooming), storage and disclosure of images, transparency, and public input. Among the proposals advanced by the ACLU of Illinois are these: requiring individualized suspicion either of criminal activity or a threat to public safety before a camera operator uses the zoom, facial recognition or automatic tracking technologies, especially when individuals are engaged in First Amendment protected activity; prohibiting recording of activity in private areas (such as residences and private businesses); bar the dissemination of images captured by the cameras except under specific circumstances; and requiring public notice and the opportunity for public input before a camera is installed in the City of Chicago. The report, funded in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute of New York City, was transmitted to all the candidates for Mayor of Chicago in the February 2011 election, as well as current alderman and aldermanic candidates.

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Aclu Report Details 'Unregulated' Nature of Chicago's Growing Surveillance Camera System, Calls for Moratorium On New Cameras

"Given Chicago's history of unlawful political surveillance, including the notorious 'Red Squad,' it is critical that appropriate controls be put in place to rein in these powerful and pervasive surveillance camera...

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