Janet Napolitano Announces New Walmart Cameras For DHS
Janet Napolitano announced Monday an expansion of the Dpeartment of Homeland Security’s campaign “If You See Something, Say Something” to include hundreds of Walmart stores:
More than 230 Walmart stores nationwide launched the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign today, with a total of 588 Walmart stores in 27 states joining in the coming weeks. A short video message, available here, will play at select checkout locations to remind shoppers to contact local law enforcement to report suspicious activity.
The program:
The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign—originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and funded, in part, by $ 13 million from DHS’ Transit Security Grant Program—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
So while standing in line with your inflatable lawn Santa, tampons, dog food, and waiting for your tires to be rotated, you’ll be treated to a freakish video of Napolitano doing anything but actually stopping terrorism, like securing the borders (9/11 began as an immigration issue with the hijackers here on expired visas), paying closer attention to the FBI watch list, and implementing effective security protocols at airports instead of get-lucky random searching.
If only the Department of Homeland Defense followed its own advice.
Taser Cameras
By David Rittgers
UPI is reporting that the Taser Corporation is selling cameras that mount on their stun guns.
The cameras automatically turn on when the Taser is removed from its holster and its safety device is released.
“Video is going to help the officer,” said Cmdr. Steve Wilkinson, internal affairs investigator for the West Melbourne (Fla.) Police Department. “And if you don’t record it, the kid down the street with a cellphone is going to use it.”
As I wrote in this post and said in this video and this forum, this is the future of law enforcement. Taser-mounted (or handgun-mounted) cameras can show the circumstances leading up to a use of force and prevent lawsuits where force was justified. The camera’s presence on a weapon, however, can provide officers an incentive to present the taser or handgun sooner rather than later. Departments would be better served with head-mounted cameras, which are also likely to capture more of the events before an officer employs physical force. Expect more of this as these devices become cheaper (and tamper-proof).
Regardless of the form, use of recording technology to provide more transparency and accountability in law enforcement is a good thing.
Taser Cameras is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog
UK: Police are sorry, so very very sorry, that they put surveillance cameras in Muslim areas
After all, what did they expect to see in Muslim areas? Evidence of terrorist activity? Pshaw! And now the police have to do extra work to build bridges and restore trust with the Muslim community. Does the Muslim community have any responsibility to demonstrate its loyalty, its renunciation of the elements of Sharia that are at variance with British law, and its rejection of jihad and Islamic supremacism? Pshaw!
“‘Mistakes made’ over Birmingham surveillance cameras,” from the BBC, October 25 (thanks to Bob):
West Midlands Police Authority has admitted mistakes were made in the way 200 surveillance cameras were put up in largely Muslim areas of Birmingham.
The cameras, some of which were hidden, were paid for with £3m of government money earmarked for tackling terrorism.
But the force had to apologise and later commissioned an independent review after angry residents said they had not been consulted.
The report said it put relations with the Muslim community back 10 years.
The scheme, called Project Champion, involved cameras being put up by the Safer Birmingham Project (SBP), made up of the city council, police and agencies in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook districts.
Last month West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims apologised after the report by Thames Valley Police said the force showed “little evidence of thought being given to compliance with the legal or regulatory framework” before the cameras were put up.
And in a statement, Derek Webley, chairman of the West Midlands Police Authority, said: “The authority accepts the findings and recommendations of the report by Chief Constable Sara Thornton of Thames Valley Police.
“We acknowledge that we did not get things right and want to take a positive approach to addressing what the report has found.
“Now, we have the recommendations from the report, we want to move forward in several areas: How we work, how we hold the force to account, how we scrutinise, how we question and how we challenge.
‘Rebuild trust’
“The authority wants to work with the community to take this matter forward to a position where we are able to rebuild the trust and confidence of those in the area.
“Without this we know that we cannot deliver the policing that the public want to keep them safe from harm.”
Civil liberties groups have threatened legal action if the force does not agree to remove all the cameras in the next two weeks.
All covert cameras have been removed and the remainder have been covered with bags….
NAACP Kicks Cameras Out of Presser, Lies, Refuses to Repudiate Gladney Incident
In light of the St. Louis NAACP’s own racism issues, I was surprised to find out that they planned to hold a press conference to attack the TEA Party as racist…again.
The same chapter of the NAACP that uses racial slurs in their press conferences …
… preaching to the city whose TEA Party leads the way in policing itself. Irony.
I attended this press conference in order to confront the hypocrites in the St. Louis NAACP. I was met with evasion, half truths and flat out lies…then they kicked me out of the press conference for covering it.
(More people turned out to cover the press conference - including black conservatives - than were there on behalf of the press conference itself.)
NAACP Kicks Cameras Out of Presser, Lies, Refuses to Repudiate Gladney Incident
In light of the St. Louis NAACP’s own racism issues, I was surprised to find out that they planned to hold a press conference to attack the TEA Party as racist…again.
The same chapter of the NAACP that uses racial slurs in their press conferences …
… preaching to the city whose TEA Party leads the way in policing itself. Irony.
I attended this press conference in order to confront the hypocrites in the St. Louis NAACP. I was met with evasion, half truths and flat out lies…then they kicked me out of the press conference for covering it.
(More people turned out to cover the press conference - including black conservatives - than were there on behalf of the press conference itself.)
UK: Police “sorry,” “deeply sorry,” express “real regret” over cameras in Muslim neighborhoods
After all, how could they ever have gotten the idea that anything illegal would ever be going on in a Muslim neighborhood? But fear not: aghast over being exposed as greasy Islamophobes, they are bowing and scraping with more energy than Obama in front of King Abdullah.
“Police apologise over CCTV in Muslim areas,” by Danielle Dwyer and Wesley Johnson in The Independent, September 30 (thanks to Kristian):
A police force today apologised over a controversial CCTV scheme which saw more than 200 surveillance cameras installed in two largely Muslim neighbourhoods.
West Midland Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said he was “deeply sorry” that his force got the balance between counter-terrorism and excessive intrusion into people’s lives “so wrong”.
The cameras, some of which were hidden, sparked anger from civil liberties campaigners and residents in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath in Birmingham, where they were predominantly installed.
Mr Sims said there were “serious shortcomings” in the force’s management of the scheme, named Project Champion.
“I am sorry that we got such an important issue so wrong and deeply sorry that it has had such a negative impact on our communities,” he said.
“My real regret is that Project Champion has undermined the strong relationships that exist between West Midlands Police and our communities that have been built up over many years.
“When I became Chief Constable in 2009 I put strengthening the trust and confidence of communities at the heart of the changes we would make to policing.
“I am committed to continuing with these changes and rebuilding any trust we have lost.”…
Of course, Muslims have no need to do anything whatsoever to gain the trust of non-Muslims in Britain — trust that they aren’t teaching the same ideas of jihad and Islamic supremacism that led to the July 7 bombings. No, the responsibility is, as always, solely on the shoulders of the non-Muslim community.
Is it a Debate Without Television Cameras?
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) has agreed to debate challenger Mick Mulvaney (R) this week — but only if there are no video or audio recordings made, WACH-TV reports.
Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire
President Obama to Take His Plunge in the Gulf Tomorrow - Without Cameras
From David Kerley President Barack Obama took first lady Michelle and daughter Sasha to the Florida Panhandle on Saturday in an effort to boost the region’s tourism industry after the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. But don’t expect to see…
Barack Obama - Gulf of Mexico - Florida Panhandle - Michelle Obama - Tourism
Political Punch
