ACLU Offers Insight on Downtown Cameras

In a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News,  the chairman of Silicon Valley's American Civil Liberties Union chapter said that public cameras, like the ones popping up in Gilroy's downtown, are legally sound but can have a chilling effect on speech and do little to deter crime.

The local ACLU chapter was aware of the six cameras that will be installed by the end of the year, but chairman Robert Cartelli said the group hasn't officially chimed in, wrote Joe Rodriguez, Mercury reporter.

In general, Cartelli said in the article, public cameras are legal if they don't single out certain groups, like racial minorities. Yet the cameras do little to deter crime, he said, and can discourage residents from free speech.

Crime prevention and investigation is only one reason for the cameras. Both Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro and police department spokesman Chad Gallacinao said the $50,000 system would help to change perceptions that the downtown is unsafe.

The cameras are a collaboration of the Downtown Business Association, the city of Gilroy and the Gilroy Police Department.

See the full article for more opinions and a creative idea for the cameras from local business owner and developer, Gary Walton.