Trending on an increasing commercial use of audio monitoring and the benefits it holds for crime prevention, legal cases, and law enforcement agency response time, the Maryland Transit Administration authorized the use of audio monitoring devices on public buses. The new security system was deemed legal by the state attorney general's office, and a spokesman for the attorney general's office confirmed that transit officials were advised by their counsel that based on a 2000 appeals court decision, the audio recordings did not violate the state wiretapping law.
Still, the decision to record the conversations of bus drivers and passengers to investigate crimes, accidents, and poor customer service has come under attack from privacy advocates and state lawmakers who say it may go too far. David Rocah, a staff attorney with the Maryland chapter of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) represented a cynical, but well heard stand point - “People don’t want or need to have their private conversations recorded by MTA as a condition of riding a bus…”
Others are ecstatic to see the city’s commitment to public safety seeing public audio monitoring as non-intrusive and beneficial – “We want to make sure people feel safe, and this builds up our arsenal of tools to keep our patrons safe,” said Ralign Wells, the Maryland Transit Administration chief. “The audio completes the information package for investigators and responders.”
And that’s very true – audio monitoring devices are, in the least, a secure, second response device for the authorized dispatch of law enforcement. Furthermore, this initiative falls right in line with a number of harassment, abuse, and other criminal investigations that have been laid to rest through the use of audio monitoring security.
While the content of these investigations lie on a large spectrum, they truly represent the magnitude public safety being provided in lue of the conundrum that is public privacy.
At Louroe Electronics, we value our position as a knowledgeable on issues surrounding Audio Monitoring and the Law. We’ve picked up a wealth of experience over our 33 years in manufacturing audio monitoring equipment – large scale c
Still, the decision to record the conversations of bus drivers and passengers to investigate crimes, accidents, and poor customer service has come under attack from privacy advocates and state lawmakers who say it may go too far. David Rocah, a staff attorney with the Maryland chapter of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) represented a cynical, but well heard stand point - “People don’t want or need to have their private conversations recorded by MTA as a condition of riding a bus…”
Others are ecstatic to see the city’s commitment to public safety seeing public audio monitoring as non-intrusive and beneficial – “We want to make sure people feel safe, and this builds up our arsenal of tools to keep our patrons safe,” said Ralign Wells, the Maryland Transit Administration chief. “The audio completes the information package for investigators and responders.”
And that’s very true – audio monitoring devices are, in the least, a secure, second response device for the authorized dispatch of law enforcement. Furthermore, this initiative falls right in line with a number of harassment, abuse, and other criminal investigations that have been laid to rest through the use of audio monitoring security.
While the content of these investigations lie on a large spectrum, they truly represent the magnitude public safety being provided in lue of the conundrum that is public privacy.
At Louroe Electronics, we value our position as a knowledgeable on issues surrounding Audio Monitoring and the Law. We’ve picked up a wealth of experience over our 33 years in manufacturing audio monitoring equipment – large scale c
No comments:
Post a Comment