result #105934 - IS THIS A VIOLATION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES?

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result #105934 - IS THIS A VIOLATION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES?

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political : IS THIS A VIOLATION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES?

[+] serious ballot by Kev24
created Sun Nov 26, 06

uk police consider monitoring conversations on streets.

Word on the street ... they’re listening

POLICE and councils are considering monitoring conversations in the street using high-powered microphones attached to CCTV cameras, write Steven Swinford and Nicola Smith.

The microphones can detect conversations 100 yards away and record aggressive exchanges before they become violent.

The devices are used at 300 sites in Holland and police, councils and transport officials in London have shown an interest in installing them before the 2012 Olympics.

The interest in the equipment comes amid growing concern that Britain is becoming a “surveillance society”. It was recently highlighted that there are more than 4.2m CCTV cameras, with the average person being filmed more than 300 times a day.

The addition of microphones would take surveillance into uncharted territory.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has warned that a full public debate over the microphones’ impact on privacy will be needed before they can be introduced.

The equipment can pick up aggressive tones on the basis of 12 factors, including decibel level, pitch and the speed at which words are spoken.

Background noise is filtered out, enabling the camera to focus on specific conversations in public places. If the aggressive behaviour continues, police can intervene before an incident escalates.

Privacy laws in Holland limit the recording of sound to short bursts. Derek van der Vorst, director of Sound Intelligence, the company that created the technology, said: “It is technically capable of being live 24 hours a day and recording 24 hours a day. It really depends on the privacy laws in a particular country.”

Last month Martin Nanninga of VCS Observation, the Dutch company marketing the technology, gave a presentation to officials from Transport for London, the Metropolitan police and the City of London police about the CCTV system. Nanninga is to return next year for further discussions.

“There was a lot of interest in our system, especially with security concerns about the Olympic Games in 2012. We told them about both our intelligent control room and the aggression detection system,” Nanninga said.

In Holland more than 300 of the cameras have been fitted in Groningen, Utrecht and Rotterdam. Locations include city centres, benefit offices, jails, and even T-Mobile shops. The sensitivity of the microphones is adjusted to suit the situation.

does this prove that big brother is cracking down all over the place? worries me. hope it worries everyone else too.

this is bad	73%
this is great! just what we need.	26%

Ballot #105934: has 23 total votes.
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COMMENTS:
you can read the whole article at timesonline dot co dot uk

by Kev24 on Sun Nov 26, 06 5:12pm [+]

Voted : this is bad
Too much security.

by skylab on Sun Nov 26, 06 5:15pm [+]

Voted : this is bad
Granted, you can't expect a measure of privacy once you decide to walk out your front door and have a converstaion anywhere in the world, but the thought of people actively *trying* to eavesdrop...from now on, all of my phone sex will have to be done indoors. The thrill I get from talking dirty in the food court at the mall will justhave to suffer...

by Truthseeker013 on Sun Nov 26, 06 5:15pm [+]

i'm telling you man, every where you look governments are totally invading our privacy. sometimes i get the feeling they're implementing some grand plan step by step and just testing it all out in phases. worries me.

by Kev24 on Sun Nov 26, 06 5:21pm [+]

Voted : this is bad
Oh brother, you have too be kidding...Unbelieveable.

by Barbara_Baby_Cakes on Sun Nov 26, 06 5:36pm [+]

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Visit:

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and Look at Image Galleries 3 and 4
(Graphic Shocking Photos)

If this is not oppression, then what is???

by blackcat06 on Mon Nov 27, 06 4:11am [+]

Voted : this is bad
Man, if this were happening here it would be proof that bush is hitler and the US is a totalitarian regime.

Fortunately britain seems to be able to get away with far worse abuses of power than we'd ever dream of without recieving the same level of criticism.

by herzog on Mon Nov 27, 06 5:50am [+]

I have some agressive tones for them. mad

by _Beelzebubba on Mon Nov 27, 06 9:01am [+]

Did anyone actually read the article.

I'd like to think that being safe on the streets was a benefit to everyone.

They are not recording everything you say but monitoring certain vocal characteristics to pre-empt violent incidents and stop them early.

"The Association of Chief Police Officers has warned that a full public debate over the microphones’ impact on privacy will be needed before they can be introduced."

So, actually bringing the issue to the public is violation of rights now is it?

Sometimes I wonder if you guys actually bother to think about anything ever at all.

by wideheadofknowledge on Mon Nov 27, 06 4:13pm [+]

Widehead: so public safety is the primary concern, not individual rights?

What if it could be proven that monitoring calls could prevent some acts of violence, would you support bush implementing a program to monitor all telephone calls?

by herzog on Mon Nov 27, 06 5:00pm [+]

Its not comparable though, Herzog.

The software here is designed to look for specific characteristic of speech in order to detect possible violence.

The technology you mention is not feasible at present.

I think we have 'crossed swords' over the issue of CCTV cameras on the streets of the UK before.
This is just a pure enhancement to that system. Looking for signs of violence is not recording or even monitoring exactly what people say. Surely you can see the difference?

by wideheadofknowledge on Mon Nov 27, 06 7:27pm [+]

I don't like the idea of this at all.

by xxxxxxxx on Mon Nov 27, 06 7:49pm [+]

Widehead: are you certain that once this system is in place they will stop there? Would you stake your freedom on it?

by herzog on Mon Nov 27, 06 9:09pm [+]

Let's say the government decides to route all cellphone calls through a central agency that claims it will only monitor for certain words and use these to arrest violent criminals.

Would you be at all suspicious of them? Would you be certain no one is recording these conversations or using them for anything other than their intended purposes? Could you be certain that even if they were behaving now that they would always do so?

If governments weren't prone to abusing their powers we'd have no need for any constitution, seperation of powers, or other limits on the governments ability to do as it pleases. But of course we all know that this is not the case.

by herzog on Mon Nov 27, 06 9:12pm [+]

I can't be certain that someone isn't listening in to my calls right now.

I can't be certain that someone isn't recording everything I search for on the internet or looking into my email account.

I would say that it does seem to have a major flaw. It is a titanic waste of resources to monitor our communications in such a way. What percentage of monitored/recorded communication would yield criminal activity. Not much I'd wager.

The enhancement of CCTV cameras is not comparable. It is for the benefit of the citizens - a benefit that will probably not be implemented for all the wrong reasons. Whining about a loss of civil liberties is both misjudged and misplaced.

by wideheadofknowledge on Mon Nov 27, 06 10:47pm [+]

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