The “Ring of Steel” is a video surveillance project that covers Lower Manhattan, home to the financial district that is seen as key to the regional, national and international economy. A similar project will cover Midtown Manhattan. This is the latest phase in New York City’s evolution into one of the most heavily-monitored cities in the world. Past estimates of the number of private and public video cameras range up to 40,000, only London and the Chinese city of Shenzen have more electronic eyes watching public streets.
The NYPD has applied for $75 million in federal funds from the Homeland Security Grant Program. Of that, $21 million is intended for the Midtown Manhattan Security. [1]
The “Ring of Steel” is also the popular name for the security and surveillance cordon surrounding the City of London that was installed in the 1990s to deter the IRA and other threats. The term was borrowed from an earlier stage of the troubles when the center of Belfast was fortified against attacks, the perimeter of which was known as the “ring of steel.” The roads leading into the one-square mile district in greater London are controlled by concrete barriers allowing police to regulate the flow of traffic. [2]
No doubt, Big Brother will want to install a “Ring of Steel” in every city on earth. He wants enough cameras in space, the sky and on the ground to cover every square inch of the planet.
Spying on citizens is out of control in England. Their movements are tracked by more than 4,000,000 CCTV cameras and about 8000 traffic cameras. In 2009, authorities plan to spy on homes using planes equipped with thermal imagining cameras to catch energy gluttons. [3]
The British government launched a trial program in 2009 designed to keep watch of problem families with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in 2000 homes. It hopes to expand the program to 20,000 or more homes. “£400 million ($668 million) will be spent on installing and monitoring CCTV cameras in the homes of private citizens to make sure the kids are doing their homework, going to bed early and eating their vegetables.” Bureaucrats hope that if a child has a more stable home life, he may not turn to crime and drugs.
The government is also maintaining a private army called “Thought Police,” which will “be sent round to carry out home checks.” The most troublesome families can be taken out of their homes and moved to a neutral, government-run compound where they will be under 24-hour supervision. [4]
This mad rush to watch everything citizens do in public will accelerate. In time all cities will have thousands of cameras monitoring vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Privacy will become a thing of the past. Most nations will also recruit and pay citizens to spy on their neighbors as they are doing in Britain. [5]They will also pay children to spy on their parents, and they will encourage parents to spy on their children. [6]
Endnotes
[1]Calder, Rich. KEEPING AN ‘EYE’ ON PARK CRIMES CAMERAS COMING SOON, LIKE IT OR NOT. 2.11.2008. [2] Winston, Ali. “The Eyes Have It: NYPD Plans More Cameras.” 6.01.2010.
[3] BBC. “‘Ring of steel’ widened.” 12.18.2003.
[4] Levy, Andrew. “Council uses spy plane with thermal imaging camera to snoop on homes wasting energy.” Daily Mail. 3.24.2009.
[5] Sorrel, Charles. “Britain To Put CCTV Cameras Inside Private Homes.” Wired. 8.03.2009. [6] Daily Mail. “Nosy neighbours offered £500 rewards by council to spy on residents.” 7.27.2009.