America Becoming Land of Surveillance, West Virginia Too

Charleston surveillance camera

traffic cameras in West Virginia have multiplied

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated

--the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

All this increase in surveillance cameras, including in West Virginia, despite a lack of evidence that it is effective, or even evidence (mentioned in article below) that proves it is ineffective from UK studies. (See our previous "surveillance" tagged articles). But the security merchandisers (see WVDOT contractors here) are making a fortune and state and local governments are impulsively spending faster than a woman with a credit card. The source article states this:

P. Freeman said the domestic market for such systems last year had doubled over five years, to $9.2 billion, and estimated that it would more than double again by 2010, to more than $21 billion.

So you as a taxpayer are paying for your loss of liberty (4th amendment rights), while they profit, which is insult to injury. It is worth wondering how many government officials own stock in security companies (either individual stocks or mutual funds), which would be a conflict of interest (perhaps even insider trading) in that lawmakers and officials (including those heading state DMVs and DOTs) also profit through authorizing this spending.

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com Smile! More and more, you’re on camera Public surveillance video mushrooms despite lack of evidence it works After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local governments across the country set aside concerns over privacy and installed surveillance cameras in public streets and plazas. Now — even after a damning report by the head of London’s extensive surveillance network and with little evidence that the systems work — police in many cities are trying to add thousands more cameras to their networks. “‘Cameras Everywhere’ continues to be the best description of the trend in the video surveillance market,” security market analysts J.P. Freeman Co. said in a report in 2006 that estimated that a quarter of major U.S. cities were investing in the technology. Officials in many cities are eager to take advantage of money from state and federal security agencies to install the cameras on street corners and intersections