[wordup] yay! more big brother ...

[Adam Shand]

URL: http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/07/02/high.tech.security.ap/index.html

Tampa uses cameras to scan for wanted faces
TAMPA, Florida (AP)

Tampa is using high-tech security cameras to scan the city's streets for
people wanted for crimes, a law enforcement tactic that some liken to Big
Brother.

A computer software program linked to 36 cameras began scanning crowds
Friday in Tampa's nightlife district, Ybor City, matching results against
a database of mug shots of people with outstanding arrest warrants.

European cities and U.S. government offices, casinos and banks are already
using the so-called face-printing system, but Tampa is the first American
city to install a permanent system along public streets, The Tampa Tribune
reported Sunday.

A similar system was used at Super Bowl XXXV, which was held in Tampa last
January.

"Tampa is really leading the pack here," said Frances Zelazny, a
spokeswoman for Visionics Corp., which produces the "FaceIt" software.

The software has raised concerns over privacy, ethics and government
intrusion.

"This is Big Brother actually implemented," said Jack Walters of the Tampa
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "I think this just opens
the door to it being everywhere."

But Tampa Detective Bill Todd says FaceIt is no different than having a
police officer standing on a street holding a mug shot.

At the Super Bowl, a Visionics competitor, Graphco Technologies, wired
cameras around Raymond James Stadium and in Ybor City.

The computer spotted 19 people at the crowded stadium with outstanding
warrants, all for minor offenses. But no arrests were made.

"During the Super Bowl, we got overwhelmed," Todd said. "That's the other
thing: When you get a match, how quickly can you get to these people?"

Business owners have mixed emotions about the new technology.

"I don't know if I like it," said Vicki Doble, who owns The Brew Pub. "It
may be a bit too much."

Don Barco, owner of King Corona Cigars Bar & Cafe, approves of the cameras
but says they may not be as effective as the city hopes.

"Sometimes these high-tech toys, they tend to give a little too much
credence to what they do," he said.