A contributor inquires of NewsLanc:
“The addition of 105 cameras to the 60 we already have will ‘make Lancaster the most-watched city of its size in the nation.’ What do you think of this?”
No one should deny the validity of the question or the importance of the concern.
However, our publisher grew up at a time when there was a police shed large enough to shelter a Park Guard officer at every other intersection of the Boulevard in North-East Philadelphia, and City police walked the streets. He and others felt protected, not threatened, by their presence.
Of course they could have abused their powers, and some probably did. It was up to the public, officials and the courts to oversee their proper conduct.
We do not perceive a big civil rights distinction between video cameras and actual police presence. It is how the information is processed and used that requires careful monitoring.
