Downtown Huntington Beach, a popular tourist attraction, may soon have several surveillance cameras installed throughout the city.  As police numbers drop, crimes such as alcohol-related assaults and thefts continue to rise, and some feel that surveillance cameras would be a good step towards cutting down on these crimes.

Not all city officials are on-board with the idea, though.  City Councilman Matthew Harper had this to say:  “When the government is coming in and placing cameras all about a public area, that’s a Big Brother world that I’m not interested in being a part of.”

But Police Sergeant Jim Katapodi feels that the security cameras would be beneficial, claiming that in his experience, cameras deter crime and those who are not breaking the law have nothing to fear.

This situation is becoming more and more common across the country, and as more and more cameras pop up, it will be interesting to see how the courts decide on these rulings.  As of now, they seem to be letting public surveillance prevail.

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