OK - Just to let you know, I love this idea that the City of Portland had put in to affect despite it being very 1984ish. What is the City of Portland doing? They are putting up security cameras that are on motion detectors in high graffiti areas.
What happens is, if something moves, it triggers the motion detector and a DVR camera goes on and records everything, while sending a text message to the police dispatch that the camera has been activated. The police check the camera to see what triggered it to start recording, and if there are taggers present, doing their wonderful "ART WORK", guess who surrounds them, less than two minutes later, with a video of them vandalizing for the judge to watch.
I personally think this is a great idea that will increase the number of taggers that are caught and also increase the value of the property in the areas known for gang problems.
Congratulations Portland, you have done the right thing on this one!
Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
http://www.ifoundyournewhome.com/
Todd Clark and the Friendly Home Team
Knipe Realty
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)746-9573
I am a licensed Realtor who specializes in Washington County, Oregon and also work in both Clackamas and Multnomah Counties including the cities of Aloha, Beaverton, Canby, Clackamas, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sherwood and Tigard. All information contained in these posts are copyrighted and cannot be used without prior written approval authorization from the author me Todd Clark. If you are looking for an outstanding agent please give me a call I would love to help you with all your real estate needs.
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Todd,
I wish they have that technology here is Southern CA. We have too many 'artwork' here that we don't care for. I wonder if that will trickle down here soon. What is the penalty once they are caught? I know in Singapore they would be donating a few fingers or so.... j/k I'm not sure about that but I believe it can be drastic.
Dave
Todd,
I know many object to 'the big brother' aspect...but it's 'public', and if you're not behaving badly, so what!!! Thanks, Fran
This must be a pretty big problem down there I don't know if we have that much tagging up here but I do know that they are rebuilding I-5 up here and has all these new walls and like the day after someone tagged the walls.......
Good job Portland
Todd Hueffed
http://www.thathomezone.com/ in partnership with Keller Williams North Seattle
I am extremely uncomfortable about the precedent this sets. And I'm not one that is likely to get caught doing anything "wrong", but it does speak directly to privacy issues. Chip, chip, chipping away at our rights and hoping that we'll go along because we're not doing anything wrong - based on the current definitions of "wrong," which can always change.
I guess my feeling is, if I support rights being tromped on because it's not my ox being gored this time, I give up any right to complain when (not if) my rights are tromped on.
But, then, Vonnegot did predict that we would end up here sooner or later - he just had it a bit sooner than it actually happened.
Lloyd - Thanks!
Dave - I don't like the cameras over all, but something needs to be done!
Karen- I don't want to see me on CNN either. Sesame Street maybe, I think Oscar needs to upgrade to a new larger garbage can after 40 years.
Linda - Make them clean up a one mile radius of where they where caught is what I would like to see.
Fran - I don't like that big brother idea at all! If we could hire enough officers to sit and watch an area that can't go 24 hours without a problem I would say do that. I really don't want to see cameras up 24/7!
Patricia - I would love to see that here!
Jennifer - I think if they would allow citizen patrols again, I would rather see that! But, something needs to change.
Ryan - We have 4 places that are very public that get tagged every night! The owners have just given up painting over the walls. This would help them and I think solve the problem, if we could get these kids to clean up their own mess.
Todd,
Tagging is a form of disrespect and thrillseeking at the same time. By bullying other people's property, they try to dominate a community. Anonymity is one of their strengths. Denial is another. Those caught red handed will only cause others to tag where there are no cameras, unless of course the thrill of the chase is too much to resist. If these areas are tagged every night, there is good cause to deter that behavior. Hopefully the non-edited full versions will always be submitted to the court for every defendant to ensure against wrongful "big brother" oriented convictions.
Here in the small town of Crescent City, CA, just south of Oregon on the coast, I have noticed a lot more graffitti lately. I am in the process of organizing a clean up crew around the city and hopefully the surrounding neighborhoods located beyond the city limits. Respect is a state of mind that only matters to those who feel like they belong as respectable citizens. America's "melting pot" has yet to fully blend. Graffitti seems to be an attack on the upper and middle class as resentments build and the middle and lower class struggle to buy gas as well as food, clothing and shelter.
BTW- I thought this was going to be about blog taggers!
Whether or not the complete unexpurgated tape is produced in court in THIS situation, the very fact that the filming is deemed acceptable sets a precedent for filming of YOUR activities, should anyone decide at some future date that they don't like what you do (however innocuous it might be or not being irrelevant), or that they MIGHT not like what you're up to, and supporting this means that you won't have a leg to stand on.
Go read 1984 again to see the ultimate results of these kinds of precedents, and then take a look at this one.
Todd - If people were allowed to do something themselves instead of letting the police worry about it, then I would say no cameras. But we have to use the legal system we have.
Alecia - I don't really like the idea of the cameras overall, but until we can figure out another way of getting these gangs to stop tagging, then this maybe the only option.
Tricia - Everytime I see something like this, I also think of 1984 and really don't like it! I think if we could be harsher on punishment like Korea and do some serious caning. I think after only one or two offences, we wouldn't have repeat offenders. I also like the idea if you are caught drinking and driving and you kill someone, that instead of prison time, you get to be a crash test dummy for Ford until you die yourself!