FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JACKSON, Miss – The ACLU of Mississippi hopes to work with the City of Jackson and the Jackson Police Department to build out policies and procedures that govern the surveillance program, and protect the safety and privacy of the public.
The right to privacy becomes vulnerable under a total surveillance system. Without the proper safeguards in place, this kind of public surveillance will inevitably lead to criminal abuse, institutional abuse, voyeurism, discriminatory targeting, and abuse for personal use.
Sacrificing our civil rights and civil liberties through unchecked police surveillance is not a path to making ourselves safer. It is only a path to less freedom.
The bottom line is that surveillance systems, once installed, rarely remain confined to their original purpose. Therefore, we intend to partner with the City of Jackson to ensure the program serves its aimed purpose and avoids threatening constitutional rights.
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