A View From Above

Police State. Police Status. Police Statistics. Police Station. Police Policy.

George Orwell wrote an interesting book, published in 1947, entitled 1984. In it a dreary and gloomy futuristic outlook is described: state surveillance of all public and private activity. News propaganda rules the media as televised images of war, executions of state enemies and other madness feeds the mass consciousness. This is the meaning that defines their dismal existence.

But what has come about Today, many years after that secular prophet predicted government encroachment into public life? Don't we find out about crimes that would otherwise go unpunished or at least unknown? Hasn't the camera captured images of atrocities, of duplicity, of hypocrisy and of unconscionable wickedness? We have seen video footage of those behind the badge become the criminals they are entrusted to capture. We've also seen criminals continue to be criminals.

As more cameras infiltrate the public spaces, we will see an increase in criminal activity. Read that sentence again. I'm not predicting an increase in criminality, but an increase in the evidence of criminal activity. Can this be argued as not good?

As the desire to curb crime increases, so will their be an increase in surveillance. Every single person will soon have to behave somewhat decent, at least while out in public. Aside from someone being able to see your coming and going, there will also be a witness to littering, to vandalism, to theft, to muggings, to homicide and to who knows what else. With a network of cameras across the cityscape, a criminal may be tracked back to their residence or to a location where their likeness will be made known.

The view that God has of us all is becoming clearer.

Let us hope the human judges will be wise in their judgments.