It only makes sense to put security cameras on buses. It鈥檚 not a case of Big Brother watching you, but watching out for you. By early May, about a quarter of Victoria鈥檚 300 transit buses will be equipped with cameras, part of a one-year pilot project by B.C. Transit aimed at increasing safety for passengers and drivers.
Video surveillance is becoming increasingly common, which raises concerns about invasion of privacy and the trampling of basic rights. The technology ostensibly set up to ensure the safety of people can also be used by a government to spy on its subjects, particularly those it considered enemies of the state. Overzealous police organizations can be tempted to use electronic surveillance in indiscriminate fishing expeditions.
The American Civil Liberties Union warns of 鈥渁 genuine surveillance society鈥� with 鈥渢he potential for a dark future where our every move, our every transaction, our every communication is recorded, compiled, and stored away, ready to be examined and used against us by the authorities whenever they want.鈥�
That鈥檚 why safeguards are needed, and B.C. Transit has ensured those safeguards are in place. No one will be sitting at monitors watching everything that happens on buses equipped with cameras. (That would indeed be cruel and unusual punishment.)
John Palmer, B.C. Transit鈥檚 director of safety and emergency management, says no live monitoring is involved, and the data recorded by the cameras will be kept only if it is tagged in connection with an incident.
The cameras are no secret 鈥� they are clearly visible and buses with cameras will be identified by decals. Far from trying to keep the cameras secret, B.C. Transit wants the public to know they are there. Persons aware that their actions are being recorded are likely to be more restrained in what they do. The cameras鈥� main value will be in deterrence, not apprehension.
Bus drivers are vulnerable to attacks and abuse by unruly passengers. As Unifor Local 333 president Ben Williams says: 鈥淓ven if it deters one person from assaulting an operator or creating an issue or assaulting a passenger, then that鈥檚 a success.鈥�
A bus is a public place. With proper rules and procedures in place, you don鈥檛 need to worry about your privacy being violated by bus cameras. And the potential benefits from the cameras outweigh any negative effects.
