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Will Big Brother Be Coming To Put-in-Bay?
Could Big Brother be coming to Put-in-Bay? At the April meeting of the Put-in-Bay Village Council two representatives from the high-tech business world gave a presentation about enhancing security and safety on the island using the latest in facial recognition technology.
The almost hour-long presentation was a real eye opener. What can be done with several strategically-placed surveillance cameras around the Village or the island could not only make the island safer for everyone, but also be an extremely helpful tool for the understaffed island police department.
Here are a few examples of what could be done. Let’s say someone causes a ruckus outside a bar that is being surveilled. A man assaults and injures someone, but by the time police and EMS arrive on the scene, the perpetrator is long gone. Police immediately go to the surveillance camera footage and spot the suspect. From that point on, police would be notified anytime that he is spotted on any of their other cameras. Say the man is trying to leave the island by one of the ferry boats. Police are notified immediately and swoop in for an arrest.
Say there’s no actual photo of the perpetrator, but witnesses tell police his back was turned to the camera, but that he was wearing a red hat, blue shirt and cargo shorts. Police can key in those factors and come up with everyone who fits that description and where they are.
Another thing that could be done is to tie in the surveillance system with other police and state systems like LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data System) that could spot troublemakers as they get off the ferry and give police a heads up. Anyone who is wanted by police on the mainland could be apprehended before causing trouble on the island. We can only imagine a known drug dealer or shop lifter coming to the island time and time again and being spotted making their rounds on the island. What a help that would be for police!
The system can even track vehicles and license plates. You spot a cart weaving down the road, but all you get is a portion of the license plate number. You tell the police, they key what you give them into the system and the next time the cart goes by one of the cameras, they are notified.
Or how about searching for a missing child or a missing golf cart? What a help a facial recognition would be! There are loads of other scenarios for its use and we can only imagine the many more ways it could and will be used.
As one Put-in-Bay police officer put it, a facial recognition system would be a “game changer” for the department.
Facial recognition is already used in many public places and in private businesses all over the world. Few people even realize they are on camera. No one would monitor the cameras unless a problem arises, so it’s not like Big Brother is always watching one’s every moves.
Facial recognition is a controversial topic. So, what exactly are some of the pros and cons of having a facial recognition system installed on the island?
There are a lot of pros for such a system:
1) It’s an extremely helpful tool for police
2) It adds to the security and safety of the island
3) It could be used to as a marketing tool for families who want a safe place to visit
4) Helps find missing people
5) Can help with crowd control
6) Helps with crime prevention
7) Protects businesses against theft
8) Could Improve response time for medical treatment
9) Ease of use
There are also some cons and criticisms:
1) Privacy issues like in “Big Brother is watching!”
2) Initial setup cost ($200,000+ for a good system)
3) Operating Costs
4) Storage Issues
5) Abuse by those who have access
6) Accuracy and Bias issues that could implicate innocent people
7) Technology can be manipulated
When a facial recognition system works as intended, security and user experience are improved. But when it doesn’t, user experience can suffer and people may be put at risk.
The Put-in-Bay Village Council will certainly be weighing the pros and cons of purchasing and installing such a system and determining if facial recognition technology is the right thing for the island.
What do you think? Email your thoughts and concerns to pibgazette@frontier.com.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
