Deja Vu

August 6, 2012

See Something, Predict Something

Tags:

crime,

police,

science fiction,

The Future

2012: New York City will soon be moving into the future of crime detection and prevention. The Domain Awareness System, a multi-platform technology-based surveillance system, is expected to debut as early as next week. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the city developed the software with Microsoft but did not provide in-depth details as to how the system would work, saying only that “it brings all the historical information from those cameras and querying all the databases into a work bench all sort of instantaneously.” Coming on the heels of the controversial stop-and-frisk program, the new monitoring system makes some community members and legal experts uneasy. AM New York reports:

The system will link license plate readers, thousands of security cameras and other sensors being used in the zones like the Lower Manhattan Security area and Midtown with law enforcement data bases, said one city official who didn't want to be identified.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which has gone after Kelly for the police's spying of Muslim communities in the tri state area, said the aggregator system raises too many questions.

“Coming from a Police Department that has a record of spying on people because of their political and religious backgrounds, word of this new plan is deeply troubling and it should concern all New Yorkers,” NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said in a statement.

1956: In “The Minority Report,” a short story set at some indeterminate time in the beyond, Philip K. Dick explores what criminology might look like as mankind’s technological and scientific skill advances:

Automatically, Anderton collected the fresh cards which had been turned up by the spinning machinery. “Some of these names will be totally discarded. And most of the remainder record petty crimes: thefts, income tax evasion, assault, extortion. As I’m sure you know, Precrime has cut down felonies by ninety-nine and decimal pont eight percent. We seldom get actual murder or treason. After all, the culprit knows we’ll confine him in the detention camp a week before he gets a chance to commit the crime.”

“When was the last time an actual murder was committed?” Witwer asked.

“Five years ago”, Anderton said, pride in his voice.

“One murder in five years.” Witwer’s confidence was returning. “Quite an impressive record…something to be proud of.”

Police image via Shutterstock

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