Massive Surveillance Expansion Would Focus on Nightlife in New Orleans

The city of New Orleans is already seeing a new wave of surveillance cameras installed around the city, and an ordinance under consideration by the City Council could step up the levels of surveillance even further.

"The city council is considering an unprecedented proposal to require any business with a liquor license to install video cameras that feed into a real-time surveillance 'command center' monitored 24/7 by law enforcement," reports Aviva Shen.

Shen describes the ordinance as the "most expansive surveillance of bars and restaurants in the country." The article looks around the country for other examples of expanding surveillance efforts, and also starts to reveal some of the operations of the city's real-time surveillance command center, which opened in 2017. Shen also speaks with members of the local community concerned about the new surveillance.

For local coverage of the issue, Jeff Adelson has kept a close eye on the issue of surveillance in recent moths. Emily Lane also reports of ACLU Louisiana's strong opposition to the ordinance, which the organization says would create a "city surveillance apparatus on steroids."