Column: ‘Big Brother’ comes through
Shot by Dan at Patrick Henry High
If you’re no fan of those video cameras that are more and more prevalent in our society, keep reading.
Perhaps you’ve been victimized by a red-light camera, or you simply don’t like being watched as you bank, shop, or drink in a downtown bar.
The flip side is, every now and then Big Brother scores on behalf of the law-abiding majority. This is one of those times — it happened this week to the Caseys. Thanks are in order to Roanoke City Police.
My son Zach attends Patrick Henry High School. Sometimes, he rides his electric scooter there. Tuesday was one of those days. But he forgot his lock. Oops.
So when Zach parked it at the school’s bike rack, he wisely disconnected the hidden battery from the motor. This disabled the scooter, which is heavy and hard to push. He thought it was secure that way. He was wrong.
When he left school Tuesday afternoon, the scooter was nowhere to be found. He reported the theft to the school.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
March 21, 2013 - 6:00 AM
I am glad your son got his scooter back, Dan. Our daughter had some things stolen out of her locked locker at Hidden Valley Middle years ago. They were of low value, but still…
Another worthy use of surveillance cameras was the infamous Goose Creek High School drug raid from several years ago. Security cameras caught it all on video. The principal was removed for authorizing this horrifying raid, and the school system ended up being sued for millions. Dave Hicks, if you haven’t seen it, it will make your blood boil.
The Libertarians will have a fit and declare war on you, Dan.
That makes you my hero today.
But just today.
That should teach the thief to look left, look right, and look UP next time. I’m glad your son got his scooter back.
If someone is hungry and steals food, well I can tolerate that otherwise
I hate a thief.
Glad Zach got his scooter back! Pretty smart of him to disconnect the motor but as he discovered, thieves can be pretty crafty as well. I bet never forgets his lock again.
Everyone needs to become aware that at any given moment you could be under some form of surveillance. Many people and businesses (and schools) in an effort to protect themselves, end up protecting others as well.
Thanks for a good reason not to always fear being “spied on”. Like GPS in your phone, sometimes it is good to be on the radar screen.
“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin
Having been victimized by students with busy fingers, it’s always fun to have video evidence to corroborate their misdeeds. This is important, because you aren’t gonna believe this: often times dishonest children have dishonest parents.
When such parents are confronted with a problem like this, they will immediately deny that their child could have been involved with such behavior. Their kids don’t smoke, drink or steal things. Video evidence makes them painfully reconsider their statements of certainty, but more than once I have seen a parent deny that a very clear and detailed image of their beloved child was, in fact, someone else’s kid.
Judas Iscariot got nothing on these people.
One story from a former high school gig came from a fight on a school bus. Not all of the buses have cameras. They are rotated randomly from bus to bus, but this one day there just happened to be a camera on the bus when a fight broke out.
When called to the school and confronted with the circumstances the parent flat out denied that HER CHILD would ever harm another. Just wouldn’t happen, and besides that, HER CHILD said it didn’t happen. Yet there on the video was HER CHILD engaging a smaller child in a tight head lock with one arm and landing round house facial punches with a tightly fisted free hand.
The story then changed to the “other kid had it coming”.
Sandy’s right, everyone should be aware that they could be under surveillance. But shouldn’t you basically act like you are anyway? Real character is how you behave when nobody is looking.
Obviously, the mother of the student who stole the scooter and then knew that her thief-kid had it in the basement of the house is low-class trash for not getting to the bottom of why her kid suddenly showed-up with the scooter at home. If the law did not require mandatory school attendance most parents in SE Roanoke would probably never send their kids to school to begin with.
Al, are you saying Zach didn’t deserve to get his scooter back? If so, I couldn’t disagree more. Some idiot dirtbag made the unfortunate choice to flinch a scooter that was parked directly under a surveillance camera. There’s no erosion of rights here. This is a similar situation to the drone issue we discussed a few days ago; moral of the story? Don’t hang out on street corners with a bunch of clowns shouting “Death to America” or steal scooters and your freedom or rights won’t be violated. Unless of course you want the freedom to steal stuff.
Common sense is your friend, Al; use it.
“Real character is how you behave when nobody is looking.” AMEN! And it is also how you behave with people who can do nothing for you. We should all hope to be spoken of that way.
I’ll bet security cameras catch a lot of people picking their noses.
old blue@13
guilty…
I think he deserves his scooter back, but I’m just questioning how far do we have to go to feel “safe”. An occasional security camera is fine, just not on every street corner.
Al,
Have you posted on this blog under other nicknames in the past? The reason I ask is, the IP address your posts are coming from is the same one as a number of other posters — Allen, Right Wing, Larry McDonald, John T. Miles, Paul, Alan Watt, and more.
It’s possible you’re posting from a library, coffee shop, or workplace along with others. But if those are blog alter egos of yours, I’d ask that you pick one and stick with it. It helps avoid confusion.
‘but I’m just questioning how far do we have to go to feel “safe”’
Freedom does not mean “freedom to not be seen committing a crime”. I’m not worried about a camera on a street corner. It’s not a threat to me. I’m worried about a mugger on a street corner. I want HIM to worry about the camera on the corner.
School safety trumps privacy concerns IMO. The use of those cameras is a good thing. If I had a child in any school, or for that matter a child or someone I loved working in a business or living in an apartment complex, I am good with cameras monitoring the place and this shows the good use they offer.
Old Blue, I have no doubt that they catch a lot of ill-mannered and gross activity. When people think no one is looking….look out!
You got me Dan. I’ll stop being so creative next time.
“Freedom does not mean “freedom to not be seen committing a crime”. I’m not worried about a camera on a street corner. It’s not a threat to me. I’m worried about a mugger on a street corner. I want HIM to worry about the camera on the corner.”
–Henry
Henry, the problem becomes the definition of a “crime.” If carrying a sign protesting the government becomes a crime, you’d definitely have a problem with that.
In the case of red-light cameras, we know for certain that many jurisdiction have shortened the timing on yellow lights simply for the purpose of ensnaring more motorists in violations and increasing revenue. The revenue is shared with a private contractor who intalls the cameras and manages the ticketing program. There is little to no due process in that. You can’t easily appeal; there is no court; and if the owner of the car fails to pay (regardless of whether he/she was driving the car) they ding the owner’s credit rating.
Besides that, the red-light cameras have been proven to increase the numbers of rear-ender accidents at intersections.
Sure Al, “creative” is what you were going for.
Donna and I were talking about the security cameras just the other day. It does feel Big Brother like but I also see more and more people dangerously running red lights. You definitely have to drive defensively and not just start to go thru a newly turned green light because you have the right of way but you have to look both ways and really check for reckless drivers.
Are you and your bride doing dancing?
Cameras are everywhere. Schools, buses, retail stores, gas stations, highways, etc. Throw in cell phone cameras and the like, and anyone, at any time, could be observed in some manner practically anywhere.
If simply doing the right thing because it’s the right thing doesn’t work well enough for some people…perhaps the fact that they could be caught in the act by a myriad of surveillance and have that either immediately sent to local police or uploaded to Youtube will.
I don’t much care for the privacy invasions though…that aspect of video surveillance, face-recognition technology, licence plate tracking, GPS location data, and other technologies has always given me pause.
Dave
When we moved here many years ago, the locals’ habit of running red lights shocked us. Others who have visited from larger cities have also commented on it. It is not uncommon for 2 or 3 cars to go through on a red light. I have even seen school bus drivers run red lights, and I once had a driver behind me shake his fist at me because I stopped rather than run the light.
#24 Old blue, are you talking about Roanoke? Seriously? If so, maybe we live in different parts of the city. I almost never see two or three at a time running red lights — with the exception of some lights during morning and evening “rush” hour.
” If carrying a sign protesting the government becomes a crime, you’d definitely have a problem with that.”
The law against protesting would bother me, not the camera that caught me doing it.
Red-light cameras are a completely different issue. They had to bend the traffic laws to accommodate them. For one, the camera could not prove who was driving the car. Secondly, the accused could not face his accuser (iow the accused could not question his accuser).
In the case of red-light cameras, we know for certain that many jurisdiction have shortened the timing on yellow lights simply for the purpose of ensnaring more motorists in violations and increasing revenue
And, when it can be proven that a locality has done this or is otherwise not in compliance with state and federal guidelines for their yellow and all-red clearance intervals, the tickets can be dismissed…and the locality can be held liable for crashes that happen at those intersections where safety protocols were ignored in the name of boosting revenues.
I still don’t like red light cameras.
Unless we become willing to foot the bill to hire more police officers and/or security, which we definitely are not, I see video monitoring as a valid alternative. Limitations via regulations are necessary to fend off abuse, otherwise I favor its use. Ironically, many seem to be in favor of this technology until they are the ones caught.
#10 If the mother lived in South Roanoke would she still be low-class trash?
Roanokegirl @ 4:10,
“#10 If the mother lived in South Roanoke would she still be low-class trash?”
No. Low class trash is not geographically or gender specific.
gdad
Yes, Roanoke. It is worst at the big intersections and busy times, but I lived near Cave Spring Corners and observed people running red lights at all hours and times. Even Sunday mornings. Guess God was watching out for them.
Hi Dan (and anyone else needing a weird size bolts and such)
Automotive Fasteners on Patterson Av should have the exact size nuts and bolts missing from Zach’s scooter. They’re not expensive for just a few items and are very helpful.
Low-class trash, can and does exist in all zip codes, Roanoke Girl. It has nothing to do with monetary worth.
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure William Bova was just trying to stir the pot.
I agree Scott Whitaker. For property owners, businesses, schools, hospitals, apartment complexes and many other places it has become the “guard on duty” It may not stop a crime, but it can give the police a chance at catching the criminals and IMO makes people who might be tempted to behave better. I am OK with it as a fact of our life from now on.
Eric Brady,
Thanks! When Northwest Hardware on Brambleton doesn’t have the right size nut, you know you’re in trouble.
–dan
Gdad, two and three cars running red lights happens every day on Orange Avenue. People know that the lights have a gap between their red and my green and they keep going. You ALWAYS have to look before you move on a green light on Orange Ave.
BTW, does anyone know what those tall metal poles they put up on both sides of the street near Orange Ave and Hollins Road intersection are? They are big and tall and there are at least three of them already. They don’t look like cell towers and one is really close to traffic…
Re: “Real character is how you behave when nobody is looking.”
I second Sandi.
Re: Dan Casey at 11:41 am
Plus studies of the cost effectiveness in the UK (an average of one camera for every 32 people or one for every 14 depending on what you count ) suggest that, other than vehicle violations, overall crime rates don’t go down, significantly. The criminal just relocates the their operations.
http://tinyurl.com/c5er98s
Big Brother in Britain: Does more surveillance work?
A government review 18 months ago found that security cameras were effective in tackling vehicle crime but had limited effect on other crimes. Improved streetlighting recorded better results.
SNIP
**
http://tinyurl.com/czfvz54
**
1,000 cameras ‘solve one crime’
Only one crime was solved by each 1,000 CCTV cameras in London last year, a report into the city’s surveillance network has claimed.
The internal police report found the million-plus cameras in London rarely help catch criminals.
In one month CCTV helped capture just eight out of 269 suspected robbers.
David Davis MP, the former shadow home secretary, said: “It should provoke a long overdue rethink on where the crime prevention budget is being spent.”
He added: “CCTV leads to massive expense and minimum effectiveness.
SNIP
A Home Office spokeswoman said CCTVs “help communities feel safer”.
**
Also see: http://tinyurl.com/lo9xof & http://tinyurl.com/y9s45po & http://tinyurl.com/9lu25ac
All I know Sandi and Old blue, is that when I’ve driven in REAL big cities, I’ve seen as HECK of a lot more red-light running and everything else dangerous than I’ve ever seen here. And that includes frequent light running when the opposite one is all the way green.
Sandi…it may be related to this construction project…possibly a replacement traffic signal.
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/salem/13th_street_and_hollins.asp
But I’ll add, I have not been down that way in a while, so I don’t know what the poles look like. But traffic signal poles are pretty distinct, if they were for that, I’d know in an instant.
Outdoor home security camera for as little as $35 goes a long way in protecting your home and even neighbors on both sides of your house. Camera’s all over the front of my home and a sign advising of video monitoring well worth the cost. A recent rash of break in and on my street, homes on both sides were skipped and then the next ones was hit. I think they are smart enough to fear being captured on camera. Now when something happens nearby, neighbors come and asked me if my camera caught anything….Oddly, can’t convince these people to leave a front porch light on.
I agree Gdad, it is worse the farther north and the bigger the city. Too many people drive like idiots and it is frankly a miracle that more of us aren’t killed every day.
As close as one pole is the the street, you are probably right Other John. I was not aware of that project, it looks nice.
Sandi, Boston was my worst driving experience, though I’ve never tried NYC and my only LA trip was 30 years ago. In Boston, people sometimes ran the light until you forced the corner of your bumper out in front of them.
Yeah Sandi…it really does. The big improvement will be the elimination of the multi-track railroad crossing, which can cause traffic to get stopped for several minutes at a time. I just wish there could have been a way to build the project without such huge impacts on strutures and private property through there…they are immense.
Since we are talking about video surveillance…
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/03/andrew-breitbart-and-james-okeefe-ruined-him-and-now-he-gets-100-000/273841/
“Former ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera sued after being wrongly portrayed as a willing participant in an underage sex-trafficking scheme. Breitbart still hasn’t corrected the item!“
Re: gdad | March 21, 2013 at 11:10 pm
In this country, I’d say the worst cities for running red (right after the change) were in Texas — particularly the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Conversely, Detroit was the worst jumping the green w/o looking out for late red runners.
Now, if we could just transplant large numbers from one to the other what would happen. Problems solved? One bad habit would win over the other? Hum?
But for what it is worth, if you don’t like traffic control scofflaws don’t drive in Italy, particularly in Rome.
#49 And these are the scumbags many of this blog’s right wingers cite as a reliable source.
I haven’t been to Rome, Dave H, but my son commented on the traffic insanity there.
Dave Hicks…ditto the comment about Italy. We lived in Naples for 3 years, and there’s a place there known as “Squeeze Alley” where multiple lanes of traffic merge down to 2…but that frequently have 3-5 cars side-by-side going through there. Many cars in Naples no longer have exterior mirrors…
Sandi,
They’ve got similar poles up going down that end of Plantation. I look like new power transmission poles. I would assume that the Hollins Rd ones are too.
PeterJ…that very well could be the case. I can’t recall what the utility relocation aspect of that project entailed (I was involved in some of the planning back in 2006-2006), but if there are overhead lines along the existing roads…they would need to either move them further from the road, or bury them, to accomodate the new roadway alignment.
These poles seem too high for power transmission lines or traffic signals so I will be anxious to see what they end up being. Thanks for the info, you could be right too Peter J, I just have no clue.
“…asked where he had picked it up. It was from a house in southeast Roanoke near Jackson Park, he said. That was when we knew this had been no prank pulled by one of Zach’s friends.” (RT:The right side of Big Brother’s watchful eye, by DAN CASEY, March 20, 2013) I am sure that Zach has friends who live in SE? Right? (Sorry. Couldn’t let it pass.)
Debbie-#35-”stir the pot”? Why does Mr. Bova feel like he has to stir anything?? SO, it’s like a joke – he’s teasing? “If the law did not require mandatory school attendance most parents in SE Roanoke would probably never send their kids to school to begin with.” (#10) Whether he’s stirring it up or not, the comment is ignorant.
Sandi, I noticed those poles as well. I’m wondering if it involves the railroad in some way. They seem to be near the tracks, although VDOT’s road improvements do look like a possibility as well.