FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today called for clear police department regulations in the use and distribution of their surveillance cameras videotapes after a video of a tragic suicide surfaced on a pornography Web site.

""Just as technology makes it possible for us to use video surveillance techniques to capture information, that same technology magnifies the likelihood of harm from their improper use,"" say Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. Lieberman said she believes there is absolutely no justification for dissemination of such videos to the public.

News reports indicate that the surveillance camera that captured the videotape of the suicide at the Morris Housing project in the Bronx was part of an extensive police surveillance system installed in 15 of New York City's housing projects.

""Tenants at the Morris Houses project and in other developments should not have to worry that every time they go in and out of their homes, their activities will be captured on camera and possibly broadcast to the world.  Indeed, this should be the fear of all New Yorkers who may find the most private details of their lives unwittingly captured on camera,"" Lieberman said.

""The NYPD needs to take a good, hard look at its procedures concerning these video records and put policies in place to safeguard against abuse,"" she concluded.

The NYCLU has long been concerned about the use of surveillance cameras in New York City and has issued a report documenting the growing number of cameras. For more information, go to http://www.nyclu.org/surveillance.html