Police in Jackson, Mississippi, are set to receive new livestreaming technology that would allow them to access private security cameras, including people’s doorbell cameras, NBC News reports.
''What you see behind us is an opportunity, an opportunity to better observe and fill in the gaps,'' Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month for the city’s new law enforcement command center, where police officers will be able to watch security camera video feeds thanks to a deal with the Georgia-based company Fūsus.
''What we’ll be able to do is get a location, draw a circle around it and pull up every camera within a certain radius,'' Lumumba said last October, following an initial 45-day trial of the company’s streaming program, which relies on small devices that convert footage from a variety of sources and sends it to a police surveillance hub.
''If someone is running out of a building, we can follow and trace them,'' he added. ''If someone says, 'I want my Ring door camera to be used,' we’ll be able to use it.''
However, Jackson City Councilman De’Keither Stamps questioned whether the city should allow the police this access.
''I don’t believe the government should be tapping into my Ring,'' he said in response to the proposal, adding that it’s unclear how many checks will be put in place to prevent the system from being abused. ''I don’t believe we should be sponsoring this.''
''We’re concerned with pretty much all of this,'' said Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst with the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.
''If the police can access your camera without a warrant because you gave them permission because you want to help them fight crime, what’s to stop an officer from peering through the camera of a young woman after she gets home from work?'' he asked.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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