-Caveat Lector- So much for vacationing in Tampa: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: http://www.tampatrib.com/MGAVF7SIKPC.html Greco Says Ybor City Cameras Will Stay By LAURA KINSLER [EMAIL PROTECTED] Published: Jul 24, 2001 TAMPA - The Tampa City Council can vote it down. Congress can investigate. The American Civil Liberties Union can protest all it wants. But the face-scanning cameras in Ybor City are not coming down, Mayor Dick Greco said Tuesday. ``As far as I'm concerned, the cameras will stay, no matter how the city council votes,'' Greco said. ``The people who are opposed to this just don't understand it.'' Greco said the computer program, the first of its kind to be used by a police agency, is nothing more than an enhancement to a surveillance system that has been in place for more than three years. ``I disagree, but he has veto power,'' Councilman Shawn Harrison said. Despite their split vote last week, council members acknowledged that Greco alone has the power to cancel the contract with New Jersey-based Visionics Corp. The company supplied the software program, FaceIt, to the police department for a free, one-year test. Greco said if the system doesn't work, he won't buy it next year. The council is scheduled to vote Aug. 2 on a resolution asking Greco to remove the software. After a 3-3 tie, Chairman Charlie Miranda would be the deciding vote. ``It doesn't matter how I vote,'' Miranda said. ``It's not my decision. It's an administration decision.'' The controversial program lets police zoom in on faces in the crowd, and the computer compares the electronic images to a database of mug shots of wanted criminals and missing children. A police officer operates the system from a control room Thursday through Saturday nights and during special events. People are always against change, Greco said. ``When I was mayor the first time, we were the first police department to use a helicopter, and people were against that. They thought we were going to spy on them from the air. Now every major department has one.'' But the FaceIt program has drawn national criticism from both the left and right as an unlawful invasion of privacy. In a rare alliance, the ACLU and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, issued a joint statement opposing Tampa's use of the software. ``We are extremely troubled by this unprecedented expansion in high- tech surveillance in the United States,'' the statement reads. ``We believe that technology should not be used to create a `virtual lineup' of Americans who are not suspected of having done anything wrong.'' Jack Walters, a local ACLU spokesman, said he was disappointed by Greco's stance but not surprised. ``Mayor Greco has had an extremely successful career as someone who is responsive to the public. I wish he'd be more of a populist on this issue,'' Walters said. Edward ><+> "The desire to rule is the mother of heresies." ~ St. John Chrysostom http://www.global-connector.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
