Down the slippery, slippery slope
Singapore to install hundreds more surveillance cameras - Yahoo! Australia & NZ News
SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore will install hundreds more surveillance cameras on its streets, including around a central district where the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings will be held in September, a report has said. The closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras will be linked to a new system at the police headquarters which the Straits Times said “could eventually be smart enough to spot unlawful and suspicious acts, from theft to a person planting a hidden explosive.” Cameras will be installed to monitor traffic junctions and on lamp posts and poles around the city — where the World Bank and the IMF will hold their annual meetings in September. About 16,000 delegates from more than 180 countries, including heads of governments, finance chiefs, central bankers and chief executives of leading corporations, are expected to attend the meetings and related events. The cameras should enable authorities not only to monitor traffic but also to review street scenes to track down suspects in the event of a terrorist strike, the report said. Current CCTV surveillance of other areas have been credited for a reduction in crime rates. Last year, the transport minister said the government was “actively looking” into installing CCTV cameras on buses as part of stepped up security measures in the city-state, a staunch US ally which fears it is on the list of targets of regional and international terrorist groups. It has increased security at border entry points, the subway system, sensitive installations and public places frequented by foreigners. Among other measures are restrictions on the sale of pre-paid mobile phone cards in a bid to curb their use by terrorist and criminal groups, including detonating bombs by remote control. Authorities have also restricted the entry of trucks carrying petrol and other flammable materials into the central business district amid fears terror groups could use these vehicles as weapons.
Big Brother is watching…
Now, normally i would be dismissive of slippery slope arguments. Slippery slope arguments are like remoteness arguments: often speculative and exxagerated. However, having read Volokh’s excellent essay “The Mechanisms of the Slippery Slope“, i am forced to rethink my conceptualization of the slippery slope argument. Perhaps one day, we will truly reach the dystopian heights of a police state.
