<http://www.southtownstar.com/news/kadner/776790,020508Kadner.article> http://www.southtownstar.com/news/kadner/776790,020508Kadner.article
Tinley Park shooting ought to be a warning February 5, 2008 How much information is the public entitled to in emergency situations? How quickly should people be informed if there is a threat to their safety? And who gets to make such decisions? Those are a few of the questions that Tinley Park officials had to grapple with when five women were found shot to death Saturday in a Lane Bryant clothing store. And those questions are worthy of greater public debate in an era when future terrorist attacks remain a threat. Residents of Tinley Park tell me they received automated calls from the village as late as 1:30 a.m. Sunday, about 15 hours after the shooting, telling them to be on the alert for a gunman who might be on the loose. These people were not happy. Mayor Ed Zabrocki tells me the reverse 911 calls started going out early in the afternoon. Normally, the alert system is used on a limited basis to inform residents that a water main has broken or explain why their electricity is out. On this occasion, between 15,000 and 20,000 homes were on the alert list. It takes about eight hours for the system to cycle through all the telephone numbers because the village does not have enough lines available to make the calls faster. Homes nearest the shopping center where the murders occurred were called first, according to the mayor. The program is designed to automatically shut down late in the evening under ordinary circumstances, but in emergency situations the system is programmed to recall the numbers where there was no answer. That's why calls continued to go out into the early morning, often waking residents from a peaceful sleep. And that brings me to the topic of planning for emergency situations. People can plan for them, but the plans usually don't work out exactly the way they looked on a drawing board. Officials in Tinley Park are reviewing all of their procedures as a result of the Lane Bryant murders. Under consideration is a proposal to force all retail businesses to install video cameras and recording devices. Lane Bryant did not have such equipment. As a result, there are no images of the gunman committing his crime. As Zabrocki said, cameras might provide not only valuable evidence in the event of a crime but prevent crimes from occurring. Of course, there's no way of knowing if this criminal would have killed people if cameras were present, but the fact that he attempted to eliminate all witnesses indicates that he had some concern about being identified. Would doctors or lawyers allow video cameras to be installed in their offices? Their clients expect a certain level of confidentiality, and such professionals might have legitimate objections to invading the privacy of the people who seek their help. And once cameras were installed, who would make sure they were maintained? At least one village trustee in Tinley Park suggested that fire inspectors could check on the video equipment when they made their rounds. Emergencies, by their nature, create circumstances that take people by surprise. But you can do your best to anticipate problems, and I'm not sure we're doing that. The Virginia Tech massacre, where a gunman continued on his rampage as uninformed students and faculty members were placed at risk, may be the most glaring example of officials sitting on information too long. If Tinley Park had the capability to do so, would it have made sense to put out an instant alert to all residents and businesses in the area to be on the lookout for a black man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, more than 220 pounds, in dark clothes? Would citizens have pounced on innocent dark-skinned pedestrians and asked questions later? Or would the suspect in this case have been located much sooner by someone with a cell phone dialing 911? I asked one official if it was possible to send out an instant text message alert to everyone with a cell phone in designated area codes, and he said he thought that capability existed. But has anyone ever used it? Who would have the authority to do so? Once upon a time, the nation was glued to television screens. But today, increasingly, more and more people are using computers. They could form an instant communications network in a crisis. The public shouldn't be scared. But it needs to be better prepared. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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