cameras, cops, confiscation & corruption

in more public places, cameras are on watch
from boston globe: Over the past few years, some patrons of Lexington's Cary Memorial Library have had the misfortune of encountering a person exposing himself. Five such incidents, along with vandalism that destroyed about $13,000 worth of property, prompted library officials and police to consider installing surveillance cameras, which increasingly are being used by local authorities to help maintain law and order and to keep property losses to a minimum, they said.

massachusetts cops get black uniforms to instill sense of 'fear'
from fox news: Springfield's men in black are returning. The city's new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members of the department's Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence... Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests. Delaney said a sense of 'fear' has been missing for the past few years.

knock, knock, it's the fbi
from computerworld: Just imagine if one day in the near future the FBI comes to your enterprise with warrants that allow them to seize and remove any computer-related equipment, utility bills, telephone bills, any addressed correspondence sent through the U.S. mail, video gear, camera equipment, checkbooks, bank statements and credit card statements. The first question you'd ask is, "Who has done what?"

maryland loses track of state id cards
from washington times: Maryland has lost track of an unknown number of identification cards granting bearers unrestricted access to secure government buildings and courthouses across the state... The ID cards, issued to state employees, lobbyists, contractors and others, have also been issued without appropriate efforts to verify the identities of the applicants, according to a report by the Office of Legislative Audits. "As a result, there was a lack of assurance that all state ID cards issued were proper," the audit found.