Downtown cameras pose little threat

by J Scott Christianson, Columbia Daily Tribune Columnist

At the July 20 Columbia City Council meeting, Adam and Karen Taylor requested that council members reconsider a proposal to install city-owned video surveillance cameras in the downtown area, a measure that had been previously voted down by council members largely because it was feared such surveillance would violate the privacy rights of residents.

Adam Taylor was the victim of a brutal attack in a city parking garage, a case that was largely solved because it had been captured on video. Speaking directly to the issue of balancing public safety with the right to privacy, Adam and his mother, Karen, made compelling arguments for city cameras in the downtown area, a project that had been in the works for some time before being squashed by the council in April; money had already been allocated, and a pilot project had been conducted in the spring.

Since then the Taylors have taken their case to the public with a Web site, www.keepcolumbiasafe.com, a Facebook page, Twitter tweets and various media appearances. The people of Columbia have reacted overwhelmingly to their cause. More than 1,600 people have participated in their online survey, 91 percent of whom support the use of mobile video cameras downtown.

Those concerned about privacy rights have good reason to react negatively to any proposal for governmental monitoring of our activities. It seems like each month we learn of some secret, and often patently illegal…