Are Lubbock License Plate Cameras A Step In The Wrong Direction?
Okay, we're going to ask some questions here, and see if we can make some proper judgements.
The Cameras
There are now 80 traffic cameras around Lubbock, that are being used for "retroactive searches". For instance, if authorities needed to prove someone was at 50th and University around 2:00, they could just look it up and do so. Supposedly they've already helped in a number of cases.
The Big Question
Once upon a time Lubbock had "red-light cameras". If you ran a red-light they'd snap a picture of you and you'd get a tickets. There were so many differences of opinion about these cameras that they were pulled down. So this leads to the big question, "If we didn't trust red-light cameras, why are we trusting these new cameras?" I guess the answer to that is, because it's somebody else on camera.
Misuse
These cameras are supposed to help provide documentation and evidence after the fact but it's a pretty slippery-slope from there. It's really not that much of a jump to see them activated for "special circumstances" and as we all know excuses for, "special circumstances" get smaller and smaller as time goes by.
Don't Do Crime
While writing about this topic once before someone commented, "Well, if you're not doing anything wrong, then it shouldn't matter to you", which is an extremely narrow opinion on the topic. The real question is, "Do you want to live in a society where your every move is tracked?", because we just took a giant step in that direction with these cameras.
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