Towheeblog

Ankeny car break-in, January 21. Here is info from my friend, Pepper Trail of Ashland, who paid a high price for a little birding walk at Ankeny NWR:
“Sorry, friends of feathers, no #featherfriday today. I stopped at the Ankeney NWR “Rail Trail” boardwalk for a little birding on my way to Portland yesterday , and while I was on the trail, someone smashed the window on my car and stole the duffle bag with my laptop – as well as my spotting scope. The state police in nearby Salem were very responsive, but I have little hope of anything being recovered. All in all, a pretty crappy day.”

As a naive old duffer I ask this: Why are there not security cameras at every remote, even urban, parking lot? Why does not the OBOL population pressure the wildlife refuge to install cameras that can record every car and truck license plate and monitor activity? Why are Minto-Brown parking lots not on camera 24 X 7? And Baskett Slough….and… Are we too poor or cheap? Is the blessed privacy of theives more important than public safety?

We lived in London twenty years ago and even back then every public space was on security cameras, sometimes from multiple angles. It is far easier to track down and arrest criminals when there is evidence. Why is the U.S. so camera averse?