WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Terror bombings in London last month have led several U.S. cities to speed up installation of security video cameras.
New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit are making moves to install the cameras in subway tunnels, at bus stops, on downtown promenades and in low-income neighborhoods.
Vincent Morris, a spokesman for Washington Mayor Anthony Williams, said the systems are more of a deterrent than an outright preventive measure.
"We've had red-light (traffic) cameras here, and they cause people to slow down," he said.
Jack Riley, a crime and security expert at the RAND Corp. in Pittsburgh dismissed concerns of privacy invasion.
"I would put cameras in the same category as improved lighting, increased foot patrols, and the use of explosive-detecting dogs -- as a potential deterrent," he said.
Robert Atkinson, vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington said the systems are like any other law-enforcement tool, the Christian Science Monitor said.
"Put it this way: If we had the money, we could put a cop in every station," he said. "How is that different from a video surveillance system?"
