Seed Newsvine
Big Brother is Taking Over
Is my free country turning communist, with guards watching on every corner? Because Chicago sure is, as I’m sure we have all seen in several areas, not just Chicago, the police cameras on the corners of several intersections. There are two different types of cameras currently in place, both of which were made by the Pentagon. The first camera is used to monitor what Chicago detective Rolando Rodriguez calls “high risk zones”, used to monitor gang activity. The second type of camera takes pictures of the license plates of cars that run red lights. The purpose of these cameras is to reduce the number of accidents that occur because of people taking red light. Though both of the cameras in place are serving a contradicting purpose than their intent, the monitor cameras placed in these “high risk” areas no longer watch areas that are in high risk of crimes being committed but instead it’s just another way for Big Brother to keep on eye on us. Also, according to detective Rodriguez, the accident rates for rear end collisions have been going up since the cameras were put in place. Detective Rodriguez says, “People are afraid to get tickets in the mail; so, instead of blowing the light they just slam on the breaks and the driver behind them is unprepared and crashes into them”. Unintentionally, the cameras that are supposed to protect people are actually harming them, but they are here to stay because the City of Chicago is making a ton of money off of them. Since the first camera stoplight tickets were issued in Chicago in November 2003, the system has been responsible for 250,000 citations and $13.9 million in fines as of September, according to the city’s Revenue Department.