By MassPrivateI

Last year police in Detroit, Michigan asked businesses to install real-time surveillance cameras that are connected to police departments.

Which isn’t all that bad, right?

Wrong.

According to an article in Crain’s Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan wants to force businesses to install police surveillance cameras.

Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration is moving forward with a plan to eventually mandate every retail business in Detroit with late-night hours have surveillance cameras tied into Project Green Light, the Detroit Police Department’s real-time crime monitoring system.

Duggan said the city will start with requiring the camera systems for bars, restaurants, gas stations and other businesses open between midnight and 4 a.m. during the “highest risk” time for crimes to occur. Then the city will move to businesses open after 10 p.m., he said.

The police department calls it “Project Green Light Detroit” (PGLD). From their “About” page:

As part of  PGLD, the Detroit Police Department (DPD) and the City have committed to devote staff to effectively receive, monitor, and analyze video feeds from PGLD Partners. DPD and the City have also made a longer-term commitment to develop a permanent state-of-the-art Real-Time Crime Center to be housed at Detroit Public Safety Headquarters. Additional work is also being done with PGLD Partners to strengthen the localties between participating stations, DPD Precinct Captains, DPD Neighborhood Police Officers, and surrounding community leaders and organizations.

Law enforcement asking businesses to install real-time surveillance cameras is bad enough.

But as you will see, things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Businesses forced to pay the police monthly

According to the Crain’s Detroit article, business will be forced to pay the police monthly for the privilege of letting them to spy on customers.

Businesses in the Green Light project get extra patrols from Detroit Police Department officers who stop in to sign a log book, documenting the visit. Startup costs for getting the surveillance cameras installed ranges between $1,000 and $6,000, with monthly costs for cloud storage of the video starting at around $140.

PGLD hopes to expand to residential buildings

What is happening in places like Detroit and elsewhere should raise red-flags in the mass media, but as you can see from the video below they are embracing it.

Police are also using Blue Line Technology facial recognition cameras, Virtual Block Watch cameras and four camera surveillance PODS to spy on everyone.

How long before law enforcement uses Elucd facial recognition cameras to spy on fast food customers?

Forcing businesses to act as state actors will have far-reaching implications for everyone.

It will turn the Bill of Rights into a fairy-tale.

You can read more at the MassPrivateI blog, where this article first appeared.

Top image credit: Project Green Light Detroit