Would Be Part Of A 'Real Time Crime Center'

Police officials in Ogden, UT are getting set to launch a new crime fighting tool ... a "Crime Blimp" which will feed live video to a crime center. The police say they hope to have the aircraft conducting surveillance by July.

The blimp's video camera would be one of about 200 around the city, networked into the "Real Time Crime Center," according to a report in the Ogden, Utah Standard-Examiner. Local businesses are also being asked to give permission for their external security cameras to be used in the program.

The paper says that civil rights activists are already bristling about the cameras, comparing it to Orwell's "Big Brother" or Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."

But Ogden police officials point to similar centralized systems in use in other cities, such as New York and Memphis, TN.

The blimp, though, would be unique. Measuring 52 feet long and about 4 feet in diameter, it can carry 20 pounds of camera and GPS equipment. Some have raised concerns that it violates privacy rights, for instance if something is not in plain view from street level, is it fair game if it can be seen from a blimp by way of a video camera? It would be the first such aircraft to be used in a law enforcement surveillance capacity, and city officials say they expect legal challenges.

FMI: www.ogdencity.com