In the television set serial Person of Interest , an AI can access almost every surveillance television camera across New York City . So the motion is : do city really make networks of interconnected private and public surety cameras ? Yes , they do . admit in San Diego , aright in the heart of Comic - Con .
If you ’re going to Comic - Con ( and the Person of Interest teamis ) , you ’ll need to get out on your Batman mask or slather on the Sith rouge if you ’re passing any of the distinguish location onthis new function . You could very well be under surveillance as part of the San Diego Police Department ’s “ Operation Secure San Diego . ”
Operation Secure San Diego — ostensibly intended so first respondent could get a sight of a criminal offense as it ’s happening — encourages secret businesses to allow the cops to get at their surveillance video cameras . It also gives officers sitting in their squad cars the power to tap like a shot into live feeds . The first to partake its flow was Hotel Indigo , a hotel democratic with the Comic - Con circle in San Diego ’s Gaslamp dominion .
http://operationsecuresandiego.tumblr.com/
Whether you ’re a house physician or holidaymaker , Operation Secure San Diego should make you a small aflutter . SDPD wants to reassure you . As they spell in a “ news flash “ :
We are very cognisant of the impact this may have on seclusion issues and the populace ’s perception of being on video . The SDPD can assure you that we have procedures in place that allow the viewing only when marshal to the Hotel Indigo ( or any extra partner ) for a service call .
That might be solace … if it were actually true .
San Diego engineer Jeff Hammett pay off curious and file a public records pretend for those procedures . He did not get them , because now , according to SDPD , these procedure do n’t survive . Here ’s what SDPDtoldHammett :
There are no responsive documents for your request to any copy of procedures regarding see these camera provender . mental process Secure San Diego is still in the maturation stage . There are no procedures at this time .
In 2010 , Hotel Indigo ’s managerassuredreporters that police could only get at the hotel ’s four vestibule television camera when telephone to the picture and that police would be set to watching the provender live , no recording . Four years later , a written police policy does not live and , without a insurance , there can be no way of identifying policy ravishment .
Nevertheless , Hammett was able to find the inclination of40 locationsthat are already in Operation Secure San Diego ’s connection , most of which are government property , such as trolley stay and police substations . Several , however , are on individual prop , include the cameras at Hotel Indigo and Prudential Realty , just block away from the San Diego Convention Center .
Click here to see the map .
San Diego has a lawful interest in public safety , include during massive effect like San Diego Comic - Con , but it has n’t been shown that this interest justify a system of interlink surveillance camera or police access to secret picture feeds — especially in a urban center like San Diego thatbragsabout “ hav[ing ] such a low crime pace . ” Even if this were shown , SDPD needs to do a better business of delineate the boundary of this program .
Who can get at the feeds and under what condition ? What kind of paper trail is created when they get at a provender ? San Diego has been playing withfacial recognition systems ; are these being apply to the feeds ? How long after a reported incident can SDPD go on monitoring the cameras ? Does a police officer have the technological access to turn on a camera by himself , at any clip , or only during a crisis or with authorisation from high up ? Have the feeds been tested for security vulnerabilities ?
Then there ’s the bighearted interrogative sentence : can some vigilante , crime - augur artificial intelligence programme built by the threatening guy from Lost pat into it through a backdoor ?
So many question and so few reply . mayhap SDPD will be watch you , maybe they wo n’t . One thing we can say is that we go for to see you at Comic - Con . Electronic Frontier Foundation will be at Alaska Robotics ’ exposition manse booth ( # 1134 ) 2 – 3 p.m. on Friday , Saturday , and Sunday . Also insure outEFF ’s Guide to Comic - Con .
Irony Update : Ten arcminute after this stake go live , the San Diego Police Departmenttweeted:”SDPD welcomes Comic Con visitor to town . We look forward to seeing a pot of superheroes . ”
Surveillance
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