Should The Government Increase Surveillance In America?
Luis Salas
Professor Williams
English 1C
23 November 2013
The United States Government: Illegal Spying
Surveillance in America is nothing new. It dates back to around 1945 with the ending of World War II after the Soviet Union and the United States became rivals as the world powers. From bugs on tree trunks to cameras in shoes to airplane drones, surveillance tools have really evolved over the years. The United States has been spending huge amounts of money to create better spying technology especially after terrorism increased over the last 20 years. The 9/11 terrorists attacks has greatly contributed to the increase of surveillance in America. A journalist states in his article, “‘you were fighting a never-ending war that gave you a …show more content…
The only way this technology can be utilitarian is after the crime has taken place so the police can try to find the suspect. Amanda Alvarez, a write, editor, and a college instructor, explains in her article the reason why these cameras are not ready to be used. She states, “ Hair, hats, sunglasses, and facial expressions can throw off automated recognition” (Alvarez). Even though these cameras are “able” to recognize certain faces, sometimes they fail, and the police end up arresting the wrong person. In addition, Ms. Kelly states, “But it 's still not clear whether they are effective at preventing crimes” (“After Boston”). Even though the technology on these cameras has work to capture criminals, they still are not able to prevent crime, and sometimes, they can cause an unnecessary arrest. This means that these cameras function the same way as a normal camera would. Congress should pass a law that bans this technology until the cameras are able to guarantee success 100% of the time. Instead of installing expensive cameras with face- and object-recognition technology, cities can have normal cameras installed, so the police will not arrest an innocent
Professor Williams
English 1C
23 November 2013
The United States Government: Illegal Spying
Surveillance in America is nothing new. It dates back to around 1945 with the ending of World War II after the Soviet Union and the United States became rivals as the world powers. From bugs on tree trunks to cameras in shoes to airplane drones, surveillance tools have really evolved over the years. The United States has been spending huge amounts of money to create better spying technology especially after terrorism increased over the last 20 years. The 9/11 terrorists attacks has greatly contributed to the increase of surveillance in America. A journalist states in his article, “‘you were fighting a never-ending war that gave you a …show more content…
The only way this technology can be utilitarian is after the crime has taken place so the police can try to find the suspect. Amanda Alvarez, a write, editor, and a college instructor, explains in her article the reason why these cameras are not ready to be used. She states, “ Hair, hats, sunglasses, and facial expressions can throw off automated recognition” (Alvarez). Even though these cameras are “able” to recognize certain faces, sometimes they fail, and the police end up arresting the wrong person. In addition, Ms. Kelly states, “But it 's still not clear whether they are effective at preventing crimes” (“After Boston”). Even though the technology on these cameras has work to capture criminals, they still are not able to prevent crime, and sometimes, they can cause an unnecessary arrest. This means that these cameras function the same way as a normal camera would. Congress should pass a law that bans this technology until the cameras are able to guarantee success 100% of the time. Instead of installing expensive cameras with face- and object-recognition technology, cities can have normal cameras installed, so the police will not arrest an innocent