Dallas Sheriff Eases Off On Surveillance
Roughly half of the staff at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department signed a petition to discuss the recent installation of security cameras in the administrative, dispatch, control room, and booking room areas of the building with Sheriff Art Johnson.
Johnson justified the $6,900 audio and video system to ensure employee safety and protection from lawsuits, as well as promote office efficiency. However, many employees view the video system as an invasion of privacy and even Johnson categorizes what is recorded as public record, though he emphasizes only he and Chief Deputy Brian Gilbert will have access to recorded information.
Johnson remains committed to the system despite the protests, but is delaying start-up of the audio surveillance equipment until some legal concerns are resolved.
The initiative follows a controversial trend of more sheriff’s departments monitoring their own employees. The Dallas County surveillance system raises even more privacy issues because cameras and microphones are installed in administrative areas.
Randall Wilson, legal director for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, said signs alerting employees to the presence of surveillance equipment at the Sheriff’s office means Johnson is not violating his employees’ rights, but questioned the ethics of the system.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Des Moines Register (04/11/03) P. 1B; Probasco-Sowers, Juli.
