ABC News recently published an article about the increasing amount of crimes caught on private surveillance cameras, and police interest in connecting to these cameras. In Philadelphia and Washington DC (as well as other states), police are putting together maps of private surveillance cameras. This allows them to quickly search for video evidence at businesses close to where a crime took place.

This is a great opportunity for police departments in any state. If they are relying on private cameras, at least the police won’t have to pay upkeep costs for those devices. The only cost is the cost of retrieving footage from private security cameras, and the cost for investigating the evidence.

However, there are fourth amendment rights at risk here. The news has been full of cases involving audio and video evidence – it’s a topic of discussion that varies by state, because a/v recording laws can be so different. One side of the argument says our privacy is being violated, the other says it’s okay to record if there’s a chance to increase security. What are your thoughts?