We Are Watched on the Street
Metropolitan Police
Department Draft General Order on Closed
Circuit Surveillance Cameras
¨ April 4, 2002
The Washington D.C. Police Department has utilized strategic placement of closed-circuit television cameras
(CCTV) in the District of
Columbia. Past U.S. Supreme Court and
lower court decisions strongly suggest that this type of police monitoring is a valid exercise of a government's police powers. Under current
interpretations of the First and Fourth
Amendment, CCTV appears to represent a valid use
of the state's power to protect its citizens. It does not intrude upon an individual's sphere of privacy, but
rather records events occurring in public
space for which individuals do not have
a reasonable expectation of privacy.