Voluntary Tyranny: San Jose Looks to Tap Into Residents’ Private Surveillance Cameras for Police Use

[RT] A new proposal in the San Jose, California City Council would allow residents to voluntarily offer police access to their private video surveillance camera recordings. Authorities say the program would only be used for investigatory purposes.

The measure, introduced last week by Councilman Sam Liccardo, would require San Jose to “create and maintain a database that will enable residents to voluntarily identify their video surveillance equipment, and location of the camera view, by use of simple on-line registration.”

In the event of a crime or other police investigation, law enforcement would be able to tap into registered cameras in a pertinent area, saving police time and effort in a given search, Liccardo said of the proposal memorandum

In addition, Liccardo’s proposal suggests the city work with “private video surveillance companies to offer discounts” for home and property owners interested in joining the city’s police database program.

The initiative comes amid an uptick in crime around San Jose in recent years that’s tracked the city’s rapidly-increasing population thanks in part to the technology-employment boom in surrounding Silicon Valley. San Jose’s population has more than doubled since 1970, according to US Census figures.

Liccardo said he offered the measure in response to a spate of arsons that occurred this month in downtown San Jose. The suspected culprits were identified with help from volunteered private surveillance video.

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