In the never ending Jihad against the evils of movie piracy and it's devastating effect on profit, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has donated funds for a high tech, video driven assault on the DVD underworld. The city of angels and fallen popstars - Los Angeles, will soon install a gaggle of networked surveillance cameras with their cold, robotic gazes trained upon (hopefully) unwary street hawkers. Of special interest of course, are those that are known to be selling counterfeit goods, such as pirated copies of Hollywood movies on DVD.
The MPAA donated an impressive $186,000 from their dwindling reserves to help pay for the hardware. The system was unveiled to the press and presumably the crooks Tuesday, by Los Angeles Police Chief, William Bratton, who is also a stuggling, part time actor. (OK, I made up the struggling actor part). You have to admit though, when you read his quote, he has quite a flair for the dramatic!
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The plan calls for 10 cameras to be installed on buildings in Los Angeles' downtown fashion district where sellers of counterfeit goods target tourists and other potential buyers. Four cameras are already operating. Six more were scheduled to be installed in coming weeks, Bratton said. Batman The digital cameras beam pictures to a police precinct where they are monitored by an officer who can dispatch undercover police to the location. The LAPD has found that similar camera surveillance systems in three city parks have dramatically reduced illegal drug sales, Bratton said. |
Give it a rest already Bratton, nobody is going anywhere, whether these cameras are installed or not. "The digital cameras beam pictures to a police precinct where they are monitored by an officer who can dispatch undercover police to the location." I guess that search light that shoots a beam on the clouds of a giant black bat with the yellow circle around it, is reserved for Warner Brothers new epic film: "Batman Begins" too bad, that would be perfect for this operation.
Source: Reuters
