Criminal Detection Technology

The People's Republic of Boston may be making an investment in new crime technology in an attempt to capture criminals and keep the population safe. In this case it's a network of microphones capable of detecting the sound of gunfire. According to The Boston Globe:

The sensor system could blanket a 5.6-square-mile swath of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods -- the source of 80 to 85 percent of calls citywide reporting shots fired -- and give officers a jump on arresting suspects, improve police response time to 911 calls, and possibly reduce firearm violence, proponents say.

As noted previously in these pages, these types of solutions are always embraced when they are proposed by Eminently Reasonable Democrats. Had it been suggested by Neanderthal Republicans, of course, the outcry (amplified by the media) would be all about Big Brother and Slippery Slopes. Goodness, what if they use the microphones to listen in on people?

Regardless of this curious standard, it's a good idea, and Cincinnati should join the ranks of London, Boston, and Chicago in putting in place technology-based methods of law enforcement - microphones and cameras. The claim will be made that somehow extending the ability of police to see and hear crime will invite abuse. But there is no grounds for this reasoning, and very little basis for claiming this occurs today with the current tools in place.

But all of the challenges of data collection are rendered obsolete if the public has access to this information. Imagine servers which stream sound and video from every street corner in a municipality, accessible by cop, citizen group, and ACLU attorney alike. There may need to be some controls in place (such as requiring users to register before having access to this data) - but the net social good will be transparency. Liberty does not provide for guaranteed anonymity in public spaces, and when the sights and sounds of crime are easily tracked we have an obligation to uphold the peace.

Update: Peter Quintas blogs about cameras and video surveillance at Public Eye, a useful resource on this related topic.