Webcam to the Rescue

In the age of real-time information broadcasting, who wins when it comes to law breakers and law enforcers? This YouTube video from a Florida woman’s webcam as her home gets burglarized got me wondering: will whoever has the more powerful live surveillance technology — the ”all seeing eye” — always be the winner?

Think of it this way. There are more and more ways to track live information between live webcams, GPS services like Loopt and Google Latitude, and even Twitter (if you can trust the source).  Both lay people and law enforcement agencies are turning to these tools for information about safety. The Boynton Beach PD relied on this live webcam technology to respond to the burglars in the act and, through their own YouTube channel, have also published it as a PSA to educate the public about protecting their homes. Other examples like this abound: an LA firefighter monitors Twitter for reports of fires and even used real-time tweets from citizens during the 2007 Griffith Park fires to relay information to his crew on the ground.

Despite all the greater good these technologies can serve, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened, if say, the would-be burglars had their own system for tracking the whereabouts of the BBPD and knew they were headed to the house? Could they have gotten away with it? Could these technologies actually be used against law enforcement? So far, I haven’t personally heard of any examples, though I suppose one might be able to tune into the same radio channel as the police to get the same effect. But everyday as I look around me and see all the mobile phones with built-in cameras attached to each person’s ear, hand, and hip, I can’t help but wonder what the world would be like if each one of these devices could stream live footage 24/7 to anyone anywhere in the world. What, if anything, would happen then?