Cameras effective in battling crime

There is a growing debate in this country over the use of surveillance cameras in public locations to help law enforcement reduce crimes. The debate has grown in recent months as larger metropolitan areas install cameras to monitor terrorist activities.

The American Civil Liberties Union, as would be expected, is opposed to the expansion of the surveillance tool. The ACLU believes that all-things-

government are somehow an intrusion on the freedoms and liberties of the public. And once again, the ACLU is sadly out of step with the majority.

Here in Sikeston, cameras are being installed in high-traffic and high-crime areas. The surveillance cameras have proven effective in several other communities to monitor primarily high-crime and high-drug trafficking areas.

If you are not committing a crime, why would you oppose cameras to monitor criminal activity? If you view it somehow as a loss of privacy, is it not worth that paltry price to reduce crime and save lives?

Let's ignore the argument of cameras being an effective tool against terrorism. Here in Sikeston, I'm going to assume that the issue of terrorism is much less pressing than say the issue of drug activity.

So cameras are placed in high drug-trafficking areas to help catch bad guys. Once the bad guys see that their activities are being monitored, they will first move elsewhere. For starters, that means that at least one neighborhood has been cleared of the drug element. When all locations become too "hot" for the drug dealers, they will move out of town. And eventually, it will become increasingly difficult to sell their drugs and the problem will diminish in our town.

Cameras are not an invasion of privacy. They are not designed to monitor your activities if you are obeying the law. Instead, they serve as a form of protection for law-abiding citizens. They should be welcomed, not opposed.

Civil rights advocates are among the first to question the cameras. And that is so very ironic. You would think that minority leaders would be among the first to embrace the new technology because it helps focus law enforcement in the areas of high crime which are often in minority neighborhoods. Instead of viewing cameras as some racial-profiling tool, they should welcome them into neighborhoods where drugs have taken command.

Big Brother doesn't scare me. It should only scare those who seek to conduct some activity that is outside of the law. They are an effective method to monitor areas where law enforcement knows crimes are conducted. They are not an abuse of power but rather a powerful tool to help the good guys battle the bad guys.

And in today's world, the more tools to aid law enforcement the better.