Here's Looking at You. Surveillance Drones, Cameras, CCTVs and More

Security, Public Safety, Fire & Safety • Aug 17, 2016

Do you want to stoke some vigorous debate and get people emotional? Gather a group around and bring up the topic of surveillance by governments. Recently, as you likely know, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has been in the news and subject to scrutiny by various interests.

A citizen's expectation and right to privacy vs a government's goal of protecting the citizenry. The considerations include: What are the risks? What are the controls and limits? Does the information gathered justify the surveillance initiatives? Who will regulate and ensure protection of rights?

As a refresher, the Fourth Amendment:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Government agencies large and small, federal and local, are investing substantial funds and other resources in the quest to implement surveillance-related equipment and other solutions. Last month, Tech Times published an article, penned by Aaron Mamiit, noting that the FBI alone has made a considerable investment in surveillance initiatives. While the letters F, B, I, along with surveillance in the same sentence are sexy, the data we have analyzed proves that even the smallest of government entities are involved.

One of the primary functions of any government is the safety and security of the citizenry. Ok, well, in my humble opinion it should be. For your perusal, here are but a handful of the most recent associated topics we've covered:

Governments are active within the surveillance industry...

As you see from the bid requests, some of the implementations are to aid in the basic protection and security of personnel and assets. Meanwhile, other requests and purchases are for information gathering. Where do you stand on government use of surveillance technology? Regardless of your opinion, our research does illustrate that governments are making a substantial investment in surveillance technology, across a broad spectrum of applications.