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Smile! It's LAPD camera
Touting a 45 percent drop in crime at MacArthur Park with the aid of video cameras as "virtual patrols," the LAPD is seeking funding to expand the program to crime hot spots in the San Fernando Valley and other areas of the city. Critics see the specter of Big Brother, but Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said he is so impressed with results from MacArthur Park that he believes the cameras are an essential part of fighting crime in an era of dwindling budgets and strained police personnel. "Basically, what you can do is virtual policing," said LAPD Assistant Chief George Gascon, "You can monitor a significant number of areas without having to have an officer at each scene." [more]