NPR.org
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Police Department is building a new crime-fighting weapon: a map of privately owned security cameras across the city. Police are encouraging residents and businesses to register their own cameras through a program called SafeCam. It could be the early stages of Big Brother, but it’s also a cost-effective way for police to have more eyes on the streets.
A large white camera stands out against the brick front of a row house near Temple University in Philadelphia. Humberto Fernandini works for the company that owns the building with the camera.
“They are pretty obvious,” he says, “and they’re high-definition cameras, and they shoot pretty well at night also.”