Ferguson: Another case for public security cameras
Much of what passes for privacy concern strikes me as overwrought reaction to minor problems, and completely dismissive of the other side of the story. There's no better example than public security cameras and police-officer body-mounted cameras.
The disturbances in Ferguson, MO are a great example of the benefits of this technology. Consider this Wall Street Journal story on police body cameras, which the police in Ferguson were not wearing. It describes how the entire force in Rialto, CA is wearing them. "In the first year after the cameras' introduction, the use of force by officers declined 60%, and citizen complaints against police fell 88 percent."
It's not hard to see why the numbers changed as they did. Police know that everything they do is on the record so they are more careful. Everyone else similarly knows that it's all on the record so those with frivolous complaints know they won't get anywhere.
