Those Opposed To Too Much Government Also Should Be Heard:

Yesterday I wrote about the need for the Jamaican Government to stop pussy-foot­ing around and rec­og­nize law-enforce­ment for it’s val­ue to the coun­try. Even as I believe pas­sion­ate­ly in the rule of law and it’s neces­si­ty in soci­ety. I am also vis­cer­al­ly pas­sion­ate about the right of indi­vid­u­als to being secure in their per­sons. The points raised by those opposed to cam­eras in pub­lic spaces are legit­i­mate con­cerns that war­rants seri­ous dis­cus­sion and debate.The chal­lenge for law-enforce­ment par­tic­u­lar­ly in large Metropolises is, how to bal­ance a healthy respect for indi­vid­ual free­doms and pri­va­cy while at the same time mak­ing sure they are able to keep res­i­dents safe. Criminal ter­ror­ist have to get it right only once, Law-enforce­ment has to get it right a hun­dred per­cent of the time to avert dis­as­ter. Even as I extol the virtues of CCTV as one more tool in the fight against crime and ter­ror, I also believe that we should watch those who we com­mis­sion to watch the crim­i­nals. The Police state is not some­thing any of us except those with sin­is­ter motives want. As such we must be vig­i­lant in ensur­ing that even as we acqui­esce to present day neces­si­ties, we should guard­ed­ly pro­tect the tra­di­tion­al free­doms we hold dear. Terrorists who exert their will through fear, does not stop try­ing to kill and maim sim­ply because we can­not fig­ure out how to bal­ance pri­va­cy and secu­ri­ty. As evi­denced with the sit­u­a­tion in Jamaica, Special Interest groups squab­ble over small stuff crim­i­nals sim­ply show their dis­dain by shoot­ing out the cam­eras placed there in down-town Kingston.

The dis­trust that cit­i­zens have of Government and it’s Agents that they will do the right thing with footage har­vest­ed from CCTV cam­eras, is a legit­i­mate con­cern. Government Agents, the world over have nev­er failed to abuse the trust placed in them. Even in the United States some politi­cians intro­duce Bills that if passed into law would seri­ous­ly lim­it the role of Government in peo­ple’s lives. Irrespective of oth­er sin­is­ter motives they may har­bor, they under­stand as well as any­one else the need to hold Government account­able. So for inter­est groups in Jamaica who are opposed to CCTV cam­eras, I sug­gest you call your elect­ed rep­re­sen­ta­tive and let them know you want leg­is­la­tion which pro­tects the inno­cent from preda­tors , even as we ensure that Government does not tam­per with our free­doms and privacy.