The move by ACT Attorney-General Gary Humphries to install security cameras appears to be a knee-jerk populist reaction to problems in Civic that have quite complex causes. Wormald Security has made Mr Humphries an offer of a free trial, so Mr Humphries has accepted it without taking sufficient time to consider fully a range of issues such as privacy and cost-effectiveness. Even if the cameras are free, the labour-intensive work of monitoring them and following up what they reveal is not.
The move comes immediately after the stabbing of a 17-year-old boy in Civic at the weekend. Apparently Mr Humphries feels something must be seen to be done.
While it is true that installing the cameras might be an administrative matter not requiring legislative action, it would have been better if the Assembly had had a chance to express its view. While many people in Canberra may well feel all steps should be taken to prevent and punish crime, others would feel uneasy at the prospect that law-abiding people going about their business can be videotaped from secret vantage points in the city.
It is a significant dilemma: to what extent is privacy and liberty invaded in the cause to fight crime. It arises frequently, from traffic matters to searches of person or property for drugs and stolen goods. These questions should not be dealt with on the spur of the moment in reaction to one event, or worse, because an offer has been made by a security company.