February 4, 2008
France employs increased video surveillance to fight terrorists and gang violence
The French government plans to triple the number of video surveillance cameras by 2009 in a renewed effort to prevent terrorist attacks and street violence in urban areas. Right now, there are approximately 340,000 video cameras to keep watch in all of France, which will increase to 100,000 if everything goes according to plan. According to Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, the current number is not enough. She attributes the prevention of a recent attempt at a London terrorist attack to their video surveillance system, which, she told Le Monde, is "ten times more developed than ours."
The Paris public transportation system will increase its current number of video cameras to 6,500, while law enforcement officials in provincial cities plan to incrementally incorporate surveillance systems that are linked to police control rooms. French authorities began ramping up security measures in 2005, after terrorists bombed the London transport system and killed 52 people. French officials also cite gang violence as a reason for the surveillance increase.
Another proposed surveillance tactic has raised some internal controversy. A four-foot long flying drone furnished with day- and night-vision cameras will patrol the suburbs in order to track rioters and fight crime. But some local mayors take issue with the flying camera, saying that the Parisian suburbs do not deserve to be treated like a war zone and that the airborne camera would further befoul the suburbs’ reputation.
Read the Reuters article on French video surveillance here.
Posted by Jennifer on February 4, 2008 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
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