Those familiar with the Bay area will know of the moneyed enclave of Tiburon.

Located on a peninsula north of San Francisco the town of 8,500 has one of the highest per capita incomes in the Bay and one of the lowest crime rates. It's the home to more than a few celebrities, including Britain's Robbie Williams, and has preserved its isolation with just two roads leading in and out of the community.

But the recent murder of resident Joan Rosenthal, only the fourth homicide in 40 year, has prompted the community to use computers to protect the locals. The town has voted to spend around $200,000 to install cameras on the roads leading into and out of Tiburon which will ID any vehicles coming into the community and checking the licence plates against a database of stolen or wanted vehicles.

The move has caused a certain amount of fuss in a state where privacy is seen as important, with some residents invoking the image of Orwell. Yet the move is popular overall.

Some safeguards have been introduced. The data will be wiped after 30 days and will only be available to local police.

It's interesting that the cost of systems like this has now fallen to the extent that towns can afford to set them up themselves. With crime rising expect to see more areas taking the law high-tech.

23 Nov 2009