Letter from George Hymas

Camera Installation an Orwellian Nightmare

The Village of Cooperstown is proposing to install surveillance cameras in public areas of the village. The deployment of the cameras would be under the guise of protection against crime and to enhance public safety. The police will monitor, access, and retain the data and images captured by the cameras. The slippery slope of surveillance is an assault on privacy and has a chilling effect on protest and dissent and could bolster discrimination against communities already targeted. Easily applied facial recognition or some other Orwellian nightmare could follow. How will data collection effect local tourism? To address your concerns, there will be a public hearing in the Village Office Building on March 27 at 7 p.m.

George W. Hymas
Cooperstown