'Ring of Steel' coming to New York
* Initiative calls for network of cameras in lower Manhattan
* Plan similar to vast network in London called "Ring of Steel"
* All components scheduled to be completed by decade's end
By Manav Tanneeru
CNN
(CNN) -- In 2005, about two weeks after 52 people in London were killed in
bombings targeting the English city's mass transit system, terrorists
decided to strike again.
Similar to the July 7 attacks, they chose the city's transit system -- three
subway trains and a double-decker bus -- as the targets. But this time, four
homemade bombs stuffed into backpacks did not fully explode. One person was
injured.
About a day later, photographs of four suspects were broadcast on
television. Their images had been captured on surveillance cameras near the
sites of the attempted attacks.
The remarkable speed of that investigation was repeated in June this year
when terrorists attempted to detonate two car bombs in London.
Aided by surveillance cameras, British investigators began unraveling the
plot later that day and tracked the suspects to Glasgow, Scotland. Several
suspects were soon arrested.
Police officials credited the "Ring of Steel" -- a network of thousands of
surveillance cameras that line London's intersections and neighborhoods --
for providing license plate numbers, suspects' image and other important
clues in investigations.
New York City, specifically lower Manhattan, the site of two terror attacks,
will have a similar system in place by the decade's end if it gets the
needed funding.
Police officials say the surveillance cameras can help combat crime and
terrorism, perhaps even deter it. Civil liberties advocates say such systems
are a threat to privacy rights and another step for a society creeping
toward a constant state of surveillance.
The implementation of the plan, called the Lower Manhattan Security
Initiative, will require about $90 million, New York City Police
Commissioner Ray Kelly said. It will cost about $8 million a year to
maintain.
The city so far has raised about $25 million. Part of it has come from the
Homeland Security Department and the rest from city coffers.
Kelly said the money being spent on the system is well worth it. "The 1.7
square miles of lower Manhattan are arguably one of the most valuable and
sensitive pieces of real estate in the world," he said during a telephone
interview.
The area includes the New York Stock Exchange, the Mercantile Stock
Exchange, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the site where the World Trade Center
once stood and where the Freedom Tower is being built.
The system has four components: license plate readers, surveillance cameras,
a coordination center and roadblocks that can swing into action when needed.
The primary purpose of the system is deterrence, and then an investigative
tool, Kelly said.
The license plate readers will be in place by the end of the year. The rest
of the plan is scheduled to be completed during the next two years.
New York City already has many cameras located in its airports, banks,
department stores and corporate buildings. The city's law enforcement uses
them when needed as part of a public-private partnership, Kelly said.
Such partnerships can be found in many cities across the United States,
including Washington D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and
Chicago, Illinois.
Baltimore police officials told CNN the city had 500 cameras and crime was
reduced by 17 percent in neighborhoods where they are located.
"The feedback from the community has been fantastic, and in fact, most
people want cameras in their neighborhoods," said Maj. Dave Engel of the
Baltimore Police Department.
Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Peter Andresen said the city had applied for
federal funding to implement a surveillance camera system of its own.
Atlanta has a public-private partnership in several of its neighborhoods
that gives police access to cameras, he said.
He recalled a drug deal being busted because someone monitoring a camera
grew suspicious of two cars idling in a parking lot with their hoods up for
a long time.
"We feel that [the cameras] go a long way toward preventing crime," he said.
But Steve Swain, who served for years with the London Metropolitan Police
and its counter-terror operations, doubts the power of cameras to deter
crime.
"I don't know of a single incident where CCTV has actually been used to
spot, apprehend or detain offenders in the act," he said, referring to the
London system. Swain now works for Control Risk, an international security
firm.
Asked about their role in possibly stopping acts of terror, he said
pointedly: "The presence of CCTV is irrelevant for those who want to
sacrifice their lives to carry out a terrorist act."
Kelly disagreed, pointing out that it is practically impossible to know what
has been deterred. "We don't know acts that may have been planned that --
because of the surveillance and deterrence systems that are in place -- did
not go forward."
Swain does believe the cameras have great value in investigation work. He
also said they are necessary to reassure the public that law enforcement is
being aggressive.
"You need to do this piece of theater so that if the terrorists are looking
at you, they can see that you've got some measures in place," he said.
Privacy advocates said they are concerned about the possible abuse of
surveillance power.
Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties
Union, said she was alarmed by the prospect of government and law
enforcement officials having records of a person's daily activities.
"It wasn't that long ago that J. Edgar Hoover was up to his dirty tricks
using government spying to interfere with lawful dissent, undermine critics
and pursue an unlawful agenda," she said.
However, police officials repeatedly note there is no expectation of privacy
in a public area and it is not a constitutional right.
A majority of Americans said they approved of the use of surveillance
cameras by nearly a 3 to 1 margin in a recently published ABC
News/Washington Post poll.
Jeffery Rosen, a professor at George Washington University and the author of
two books on privacy issues, said the poll reflected the fact that "the
arguments against the cameras tend to be abstract, whereas people's desire
for security is understandable and immediate."
"But I think many people can understand life would be different in a world
where, literally, government authorities could click on pictures of you at
any point in the day and retrace your movements 24/7," he said.
Lieberman said privacy is not a quaint notion despite a rapidly changing
world.
"Technology is an unstoppable train," she said. "The question is whether we
can maximize the benefits and minimize the harms."
CNN's Joe Johns contributed to this report.
All About <
http://topics.cnn.com/topics/terrorism> Terrorism .
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:27 CST