Tech used for public safety elicits mixed emotions in Norris Square and beyond
Drones and surveillance cameras can be an innovative resource, say some of those interviewed for this story. But others have privacy concerns and feel harms experienced by the community need to be addressed first.
Grunge textured flag of Puerto Rico on vintage paper. Nicolas Raymond
As gun violence continues to escalate throughout Philadelphia, the issue of public safety is becoming more and more of a concern to the city’s residents. It’s challenging for some to even feel safe enough to venture out of their own homes, especially as the number of homicides in the city continues to climb with no clear solution to stop its ascent.
But what can be done? There are some neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia where different types of technology have been introduced in order to deter crime, such as security cameras, police cameras, and even ring cameras — each with varying forms of success and failure.
For the most part, Rev. Adán Mairena is cautious when the use of surveillance cameras, even drones, come into the discussion of public safety, because of the issues surrounding privacy.
“Assist who in public safety? Who’s going to be responsible for monitoring that? I think the community would have to get together and talk about what that means,” Mairena said.
“There’s an issue with privacy, you have to balance privacy with safety and who has access to it,” he added. “For example, as a pastor of a church, I would even, before even doing it I would talk with my neighbors and see how they feel about it.”
Mairena is the pastor of West Kensington Ministries and has resided in his Norris Square community for over 15 years. He’s a well-known figure in the community and as the pandemic continues, has led food distribution in the area feeding thousands of people. He also leads the Friends of Norris Square, a group of neighbors that gather to support, clean, and create community engagement in and around Norris Square Park.
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Dominique “Peak” Johnson is a North Philadelphia journalist. He is one of the founding editors of the North Philly Metropolis. Currently, Peak practices kickboxing, freelances for Generocity.org, and occasionally tweets about “The Walking Dead.” Click here to learn more about Peak.
