A camera at the West Hollywood Gateway shopping center last night captured an image of the license plate of a car stolen in Los Angeles and transmitted an alert automatically through a network connected with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) notification resulted in two West Hollywood Sheriff’s deputies hearing to the Gateway where they discovered a stolen Jeep Patriot vehicle in the parking area near Target. The deputies, Garrett Rifkin and Grehtel Barraza, entered Target looking for a person identified as the suspect in the theft of the rental vehicle. They found him and arrested him.
The ASAP system is the result of a partnership between private security agencies and public safety organizations. By automatically transmitting data about stolen vehicles or other crimes, the system reduces the need for 911 calls.
Cameras in private or commercial areas connected to law enforcement is dangerous.
Talk about a police state. I guess we should just give them our fingerprints, a DNA sample, and perhaps install cameras in our own homes so the government can monitor us.
This is not progress, it’s a violation of civil liberties. Scary!