Public Sex Deterred by Talking Beach Cams

Big Brother is truly watching everything on the beach in Martin County, Florida (near Palm Beach.) According to an article on the Palm Beach Post website, County Commissioners are entertaining the idea of installing talking cameras on several beaches in the area. The purpose is to catch people engaged in public sex on the beach. Imagine yourself enjoying a moonlight stroll with your babe, when you decide to steal a kiss and a hug. Suddenly a bright light envelopes you, and a booming voice lets you know that you are being watched, and about to be filmed. Your passion wanes, and you run for the hills...or dunes. But you likely won't be safe there either. The new cameras are solar powered, and can be connected to light poles or trees along the beach. FlashCAM devices are made by the California company of Q-Star Technology. They sense motion, and then issue a prerecorded verbal warning that you are under surveillance. One minute later, they start recording.

Commission Chairman Michael DiTerlizzi is in favor of the cameras and remarked recently, "I'm all for it." He proposed the Web cams due to several recent arrests of men soliciting men for public sex at county beaches. "Anything that deters that kind of activity is going to be good." The commissioner would like to see cameras everywhere on the beach, and in the parking lots, but is against having the cameras in public bathrooms, because that would be an invasion of privacy. He suggested installing the cameras so that 911 dispatchers could monitor them when they were activated, and then call deputies if a public sex violation occurs.

Other county officials have concerns. Martin County Economic Development Council Executive Director, Tammy Simoneau, wondered whether the public sex crimes (or other crimes at the beach) were frequent enough to warrant the cost of buying and maintaining the cameras. The cameras cost about $5,500 each, and they would have to be maintained as well as monitored. She commented, "The solution may be more expensive than the crime."

Wiring the proposed beaches, for continuous broadcasting to the Internet, would be a difficult endeavor. A county worker would have to download footage from the camera, and the logistics of trying to identify and catch the "offenders" would be troublesome, if not impossible. Imagine a police squad being dispatched to the scene of the crime.

Terri Monaghan, Executive Director of the Martin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, worried that the talking camera idea would scare off tourists, and could be seen as an invasion of privacy. "My first reaction is that it sounds pretty intrusive," she added.

Similar talking cameras are being used in Los Angeles to catch those involved in graffiti and vandalism. Officials there say the cameras serve as a good deterrent to those type of crimes, though they have not used the cameras to document sex crimes.

Other commissioners cited a need for more deputies at the beaches, as there were other crimes taking place, such as burglaries, in addition to public sex. Commission Chairman, Doug Smith, commented, "We need to be much more proactive at the beaches in terms of overall security."

Comments on the site of the PalmBeachPost.com were mixed, but most were against the idea. One poster referred to the commissioners as "Nazi Sex Police", and reminded them that Americans do not like to be under surveillance, as we value our freedoms. Many felt it was a violation of civil rights, and others said it was a waste of tax dollars. Some posters wondered if the sea turtles would cause the motion sensor to go off, and others wondered about couples or families, innocently walking on the beach. Some felt that it was a prejudice against gay men, because sex between males and females, was not mentioned as a reason for the proposal.

A recommendation for the installation of the cameras, is expected within a couple of weeks. A vote would then be taken. This is an important issue to be aware of, as it could set a precedent for cameras to be installed in more public places, in the future.

So if you're considering a romantic evening on the beach with your honey, it might be a good idea to stay away from Martin County, Florida, unless you want the entire encounter caught on tape!

Sources: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/tcoast/epaper/2007/11/18/m1c_mccameras_1118.html#comments