by TChris

The fear of Big Brother watching our every move has often defeated government plans to install surveillance cameras. Creeping into the public consciousness, however, is the reality that government usually obtains access to the private cameras that have become ubiquitous in urban areas.

According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which tracked cameras from 1998 to 2004, publicly visible cameras in Chelsea have gone to 368 from 67; in Times Square, to 258 from 98; and on the Lower East Side, to 125 from 21.

Often the private camera in a building, store or restaurant might as well belong to the government, since private entities usually turn their videos over to police investigators after a crime.

The evidence provided by a clear picture is usually more reliable than eyewitness testimony, and can forestall accusations against innocent bystanders. Still, the realization that government has such easy access to cameras that chronicle the daily lives of many is unsettling.