Got to make sure they stay buried
Do not cheat on your spouse or read any banned books in the parks.
At Wednesday nights city council meeting the citizens of Wildomar were in essence told there would be no discussion regarding the recently installed video cameras located at 2 of Wildomars Parks and the Wildomar Cemetery.
Despite the fact that video surveillance recordings are public record and this city has never held public hearing regarding the use of these cameras or the provisions for the keeping of any recordings such as length of time.
What are they recording, everything 27/7 only certain hours of the day or night.
What are they observing (activities in the park stopping at the parking lot, the sidewalk, the middle of the street the far sidewalk) where does the view end, the fence line along houses, the back of the house, and how do the citizens know these limits are being maintained.
What are the policies in place to prevent a disgruntled whoever from changing the parameters.
These cameras are capable of pan tilt and zoom, be careful of what you read in the park.
Who has access to the feed from these cameras, the police, private security company, city employees. Does anyone in this town have any idea
These are wireless technology according to the manufacturer and depending on the technology used subject to being highjacked by unscrupulous characters.
Do anyone have any idea how secure this system is or how secure the cities wonderful computer system is.
This technology is capable of being accessed from anywhere in the world.
Per the Manufacturer’s website (Just add power and within minutes, you can be viewing live or playing back recorded video from any computer via internet) a link is provided below to their website.
Speaking of recorded video in California, public records laws allow access to recordings from surveillance cameras, increasing the privacy threat. Under the California Public Records Act, all government records are open to inspection by the public, subject to exemptions that are to be narrowly construed.
“To say that the exemption is applicable to any document which a public agency might, under any circumstances, use in the course of [an investigation] would be to create a virtual carte blanche for the denial of public access to public records. The exception would thus swallow the rule.”
In other words, the recordings should only be exempt if there is a “concrete and definite prospect” of actual enforcement proceedings, i.e., the tapes contain footage showing a crime in progress that will be used as part of a police investigation.
If the city should use this technology to protect its self in a liability suit what happens to the assumed exemptions that this city is falsely operating under.
Now is the time to speak up before this city runs amuck an tramples your right to privacy.
To read more about the system installed in Wildomar you visit the manufacturers website at
https://securitylines.us/
The questions surrounding the recently installed security cameras at two of our parks, and the whole issue of just how secure and informative Wildomar’s computer systems and website are, should have long since been addressed and then incorporated into the city’s policies, processes and procedures. Where, I may add, the public could have full, wide-ranging access to this information – just as the laws require.
However, we are once again being treated to a clear picture of poor management from our local city government. Simply put, the city staff and city council have once again put the cart before the horse. It appears council members lack the good sense to operate Wildomar as the public agency it is supposed to be using business best practices.
And please spare us the usual nonsense of falling back on the tired, worn excuse that Wildomar is a “new” and “cash-strapped” city. With all the years since Wildomar’s incorporation, there should have been time to develop these P & Ps. It’s also time to have a fully functioning website, instead of one with current press releases rather than ones from years ago, and with pages that have been ” under construction” for not just months, but years.
There are dozens of well-established models in the public domain which could be had for these policies and procedures at little or no cost. They could easily be tweaked or customized to meet the city’s needs – sans the council’s habit of running out to hire yet one more expensive consulting firm.
Perhaps it is time for city staff and city council to realize that this essential work is part of their jobs. If they can’t find the hours necessary to address these issues and tasks, then it is time for Wildomar to return to a regular business schedule, which means having the council meeting twice a month – every month – and having staff return to a full five-day work week. We taxpayers are certainly paying city staff salaries at a full time rate, and it’s time we got what we are paying for…