By Tim Perry
The original version of this post appeared on the Sedona Bulletin Board on Friday, Aug. 1.
Sedona, AZ — As a reminder, the Sedona City Council has tentatively scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 3 p.m., at which city staff will endeavor to “educate” residents on why it’s a good thing that the city is building tracking maps of their every movement and giving that data to a private corporation to be used to advance its “Minority Report” agenda. Mark your calendars.
City staff’s recent purchase of license plate tracking cameras with zero public consultation isn’t about safety. It’s about the insatiable hunger of power hungry bureaucrats to exercise as much control as possible over as many people as possible—over as great an area as possible, not just in Sedona.
The Sedona cameras are part of a systemic regional process to create a totalitarian police state in what was once open range beyond state control.
Sedona’s cameras will interface with Cottonwood’s and the county’s and in due course the state’s new cameras along I-17, all of the feeds from which will eventually be routed through the state’s new surveillance center manned by Embry-Riddle students—with the explicit goal, as Sen. Mark Finchem gleefully stated a few months ago, of creating a CIA-style operation enabling the bureaucrats to track us to the extent that they will be able to send cops to our houses if they merely suspect us of associating with someone suspected of associating with someone suspected of a crime.
The better to scare us into subservience, of course. And in Sedona, the council will also use the camera data to attempt to force drivers and pedestrians to take only the routes they want with the goal of discriminating against visitors in favor of elitist residents and against humans in favor of inanimate objects.
There is no defensible justification for these cameras in a town with falling population.
From any viewpoint that prioritizes freedom and ethics, the city’s purchase of these cameras looks like nothing so much as a means to facilitate further official intimidation and manipulation.
They are another attack on traditional Western values and another attack on the early American ideal, so forcibly stated by Benjamin Franklin, that no pragmatic concern can ever take precedence over individual liberty, regardless of what the consequences of that liberty might be.
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34 Comments
Just more silliness.
Why do you care?
Almost every store, restaurant, bar you walk in has you on camera!
Traffic cams have been all over Cottonwood and Sedona for years.
Many intersections have traffic cam(what the hell is different?)
I guess if your worried about a police state,?My concerns are armed men wearing masks
scooping people off the streets, and many times no badge, name, or authority displayed!
But hey thats me. You know, get people deported them or jail them. Plenty of American citizens
have had their right violated already, and many more will in the days a head!
But in this day and age, everything is about distraction, as you actually lose rights and healthcare
free speech and freedom!
So I will not put any energy about something as silly as this!
“So I will not put any energy about something as silly as this!”
You just did, nitwit!
Dear nitwit, a comment isnt getting worked up. Just applying a little logic, as every store you shop and intersection you drive through are already watching you!
You must be a great brain trust, with your in depth oversight and intelligent, its overwhelming!
Now go help you mom with the dishes.
Wrong again as usual.
“… a comment isnt getting worked up.”
Perhaps not, but still requires energy. Don’t move the goalposts.
BTW, not every store has cams, and the intersection cams are for stop light control and are not license plate readers. So, like I said, wrong again as usual.
Wrong! The cameras do not control the traffic Lights! The cameras are for ADOT to monitor traffic flow with. There are sensors activated by sirens on emergency vehicles that switch the lights to give them the right away while responding to calls.
You poor thing. You really aren’t very bright are you? With no sensors in the street’s pavement, how do you suppose the light knows to change for a vehicle that just arrived at the intersection from a side street? By magic?
About 20 years ago when I first moved here, I was told by none other than the chief of police as to what the cameras were there for and how they worked.
Well freeze GenieASS please enlighten me beyond what I already know! Traffic lights are on timers which can be overridden by ADOT and Emergency Vehicles with a light preemptive system or Opticon. There are zero sensors in the pavement oh brilliant moron! You idiots should do some Google searches or other research prior to attempting to make yourselves look Bigly intelligent like you moron POTUS!
Surely wasn’t the current Chief who actually knows what she is doing rather than playing political favors for the wealthy of Sedona.
Next time you are out and about take a pic of the sensor plates you claim are in the pavement of the roadways! Go ahead prove me wrong and I will apologize to every MAGA moron out there for calling them the morons they are! What does ADOT do when they have to repave or repair the road pace around all of the plates 🤣😅🤣😅. Try taking a look at what is on the extension poles the traffic lights hang from, see any white squares??? Wonder what that could be? And what about those squares mounted on poles on the sides of the roadway a couple hundred feet from the intersection? Hmmm? Could they be Opticom sensors for emergency vehicles? I’d have to do some research but I’m pretty certain that’s what they are! What would I know I’m just an ex Federal Officer!
@@JB
So are there plates in the roadway or cameras? And exactly what type of camera were you allegedly told they were 20 years ago?
Actually, there are no sensor plates (as in some other locales). That is why there are cams atop the stop light fixtures. Yes, the lights are on timers but they also use cams to know, for ex., if the left turn light needs activation or there is a vehicle at a stop light controlled side street. But those cams are not plate readers.
@@Jill the cameras have nothing to do with stoplight functions. I never said there were plates some whacko who thinks Chinese Military Battalions were or are here on behalf of Biden did so. The cameras are for ADOT to monitor traffic flow with so they can switch the lights manually if traffic gets backed up for whatever reason. Those cameras can read plates but are not designed for that purpose. Plate readers and Facial Recognition Cameras go together as you see at high security locations such as airports, the border checkpoints, military bases and some prisons.
Again I did not bring up the so called “plate” theory. I think TJ Hall or JB whichever posted about the Opticom system has the most valid argument about how traffic lights are regulated by ADOT and Emergency Vehicles whenever they need to change the lights to permit them to go through intersections more quickly and without having to rely solely upon their emergency lights and sirens.
Traffic lights utilize various methods to determine when to change signals, ranging from simple timers to sophisticated sensor systems.
Methods of determining signal change
Fixed-time systems: These lights operate on a predetermined schedule, changing signals at set intervals regardless of traffic flow. While basic, they can be configured to adjust timings for different times of day (e.g., longer green lights during rush hour).
Actuated signal control: This more advanced system uses real-time data to make decisions about light timing and sequence. It relies on various types of sensors, including:
Inductive loop sensors: These are wire coils embedded in the pavement that detect the presence of vehicles by measuring changes in magnetic fields when a metal object passes over them.
Video detection systems: Cameras monitor the intersection and analyze images to identify vehicles, pedestrians, and even bicycles, providing real-time data on traffic flow.
Microwave sensors: Utilizing radar technology, these sensors detect moving objects and are effective in various weather conditions.
Infrared sensors: These sensors use beams of infrared light to detect vehicles by measuring interruptions in the beam.
Centralized traffic management systems: In some cities, traffic lights are connected to a central computer network, allowing city planners to monitor and adjust light timings remotely to optimize traffic flow.
Factors influencing light changes
Presence of vehicles: Sensors detect waiting cars, triggering a change in the light.
Traffic volume and speed: Adaptive systems use sensor data to adjust green light durations according to real-time traffic volume and speed, minimizing wait times and improving flow.
Pedestrians: Dedicated pedestrian sensors ensure timely crosswalk signals, improving safety.
Emergency vehicles: Traffic preemption systems allow emergency vehicles to change signals to green as they approach, reducing response times.
Coordination between intersections: Traffic signals can be timed to work in unison, allowing traffic to flow smoothly through multiple intersections.
Thank You Tim Perry.
Clearly stated and right to the point as always. We are truly living in scary times where the gubament is everywhere in our lives.
Bill Cowan
This is why our Founders put safeguards in place. Unfortunately the current administration and their corrupt supporters feel themselves above the law and beyond the need for safeguards. Good cops provide an invaluable public service and tools like this help them to do their jobs. Bad cops and bad politicians take advantage of tools like this for personal nefarious activities and make their usefulness appear questionable rather than questioning and punishing those who abuse them for personal gain. Just like an automobile is a fantastic tool to get us from point A to point B, a jackass driving outside the law destroy the usefulness and turn it into a weapon that kills. Tools are not the problem! Jackasses who misuse them very much are! Anyone questioning the new “surveillance” system being installed in Sedona should attend the City government’s meeting on the issue and ask the hard but necessary to answer questions on exactly what safeguards will be emplaced and enforced and by who? Who does the system belong too and who can access it? What agency will be responsible for ensuring ethical lawful use of the system and which one will be responsible for ensuring any and all violations of lawful ethical use will be investigated and prosecuted? Who can make a FOIA request for data accrued by the system? What are the training and certification requirements if any for operators/users of the system? Who will be responsible for routinely scanning the system and what will they be looking for when they do so?
Sedona.biz — can you fix the broken link at the end of the article. “To learn more click HERE.”
Thank you.
An excellent article, Mr. Perry. You tell it like it is. The authorities are preparing us for 1984 all over again. Those internment camps they are building for the undocumented are really being set up for us—for those of us who will not buckle to the coming dictatorship. The sheep are bleating to whatever our dictator says, and they are laying the groundwork for when they take off their gloves and masks and show us who they really are. We need to keep freedom of the press alive, and we can use your pen to keep us informed and to resist. Good work. Let’s see more.
Cameras are not the problem! It’s how they are used, by whom and why that comes into question. AZ is a one party state so anyone can photograph anyone else anywhere anytime and it is 100% legal.
Exactly Mr Bill! Nobody wants to be surveilled. That’s a natural response to have. Nobody wants Big Brother abusing surveillance technology to track our every movement or infraction. That is what China does to its citizens. People do want to feel safe and Law Enforcement should have the tools necessary to ensure that safety. What really matters here are safeguards, public access and routine oversight in order to prevent Big Brother from abusing the tools we provide them with. And that’s the bottom line here, politicians, first responders, city managers etc., they work for us and not the other way around despite the MAGA mantra of making the rich richer! We need to hold their feet to the fire every chance we get. Go to Town Halls and don’t be afraid to tell them they work for you! Not the other way around and they had better tow the line if they value their jobs. They don’t or won’t answer legitimate questions, vote their arses out yesterday! We don’t need more corruption we’re up to our eyes in it with Trump. We need honest answers, honest (not convicted Felon) politicians and 100% accountability from them any time they are asked. Look at Gov. Yah Butt and his circus of hate filled pseudo evangelical MAGA Politicians. First there was Uvalde and Ya Butt saying his officers all did exactly the right thing which was a complete damned lie (think lying is a Commandment violation?) Then we had the floods in the San Antonio area and again Ya Butt opens his hate filled mouth and defends his first responders and state emergency alert system. That was a damned lie as well! And now he wants to arrest duly elected State representatives who do not answer to him for not going along with his gerrymandering and lies. Ken Pax a ton who should be in prison for corruption is also pushing for their arrest as he seeks to be elected to a US Senate seat.
Any good kind hearted person can see through the Svengali mind fu@k these corrupt politicians are using to convince their fervent supporters that what they’re doing is legitimate and legal when it is not. They just happen to be free of checks and balances that America’s founders put into place because they’ve circumvented government normalcy and have corrupt Judges at every level of government to include the SCOTUS who have decided that despite stating under oath to Congress that they would NOT attempt to change laws like Roe V Wade that had long term precedent. That was a damned lie out of their own mouths and they can and should be impeached for it the second Trump is out of office and hopefully in a prison cell with them!
The author obviously suffers from paranoid delusions. There is nothing wrong with those cameras. They are here for our protection and safety. If you’ve got something to hide, then that’s your problem.
Those cameras will help law enforcement fight crime. Think of kids being kidnapped or trafficked. Those cameras, and the many that are coming, will help us catch these criminals. And save our kids.
Quit feeding the fears. Society exists to protect us. We have enough fear in the world and we don’t need you adding to the pile with your writings.
“If you’ve got something to hide, then that’s your problem.”
Right, like who cares about free speech if you have nothing to say? Nitwit!
Society exists to protect us??? Seems like many people in our society didn’t get that memo. Society exists because people created it not the other way around. It’s the natural order of things that people live wherever they feel the most comfortable and happy. Some people have no choice in the matter and are forced to live in squalor or in hunger like the Palestinian people who have a society ruled by another one that feels omnipotent to as they please to their neighbors in order to expand their own settlements onto lands that do not belong to them. Some people are born in war zones like Gaza or Ukraine and their societies are limited in or unable to protect them from genocidal maniacs who want them all erased from the face of the earth.
Society is a vague concept not a fixed one.
Well, well, well. No more Red Rock Snooze, and now we find you here on Sedona.biz. Bravo! Now you can write the wrongs without being censored or rejected. Looking forward
I can’t understand how anyone could want to be spied on 24/7 by machines and the people who operate them.
Pretty soon, they will send surveillance cameras into your homes to protect you from burglars, undocumented criminals breaking into your house, or suffering a medical emergency when no one’s home—so they can send the ambulances. At least, that will be their excuse.
Maybe they will control everything so well you will be told when to go to sleep. When to wake up. When to eat and bathe. When to make love and when to listen to music or read—for the benefit of all. Freedom will be considered something odious and dangerous to the collective.
It’s coming.
And everyone is asleep.
As they say, if you can’t make it at the RRSnooze, you can’t make it anywhere. I went through online articles in all the Larsen papers about license plate readers, and it was fascinating to find tough, balanced, and informative pieces written from educated reporters—unlike Mr. Perry.
This is the link to Tim’s full article.
https://spycamsinsedona.wordpress.com/
Taking an attitude that you’ve done nothing wrong so it’s OK to collect your personal data is a dangerous path to walk down. Police can have license plate readers in their cars, if equipped. They have a list of plates in their data base, and if their reader hits on of those plates they can take action.
That’s not the same thing as collecting at random ALL plates, and then giving anyone the capability to search YOU out. Sit down at a computer, type in your plate, and get a complete print out of everywhere you have been, and at what time.
What’s next, facial recognition software tracking your every move? Well friends and neighbors, they do that in China. It takes them about 15 minutes to nail you in a city like Beijing once the alert goes out.
You do not want to be subject to government changes, political changes, and the slow creep of government in the name of “safety”. When you live in a free society, you take some risks. Make personal decisions. If you want total government “security ” there are countries you can move to. That’s not how this country was built.
If you give up some of your freedom for security, you will have neither.
Not my quote.
Grand idea mate! So why all the American First and 100% border security rants if you don’t believe in 100% security? Our country is already thoroughly covered with private, corporate and Law Enforcement surveillance cameras and Sedona is no exception. Law enforcement currently has facial recognition cameras mounted on their patrol vehicles. They’re not just randomly scanning plates but also faces. They’ve always had the ability to check License plates and Licenses (just much quicker now a days). What they couldn’t do was match a face to a claimed name but now they can. The cameras in Sedona will have facial recognition and plate readers. Arizona is NOT a two party state. Meaning anyone can audio/video record anyone else without permission. This is especially true when people are on public roadways vs private property. Go down any major highway in any state or even other country and you will see the cctv cameras along the entire route. Though primarily used to monitor traffic flow they can and are used to identify vehicles and drivers of interest to law enforcement. Go in just about any business anywhere and you’re on candid camera. Visit a State or National Park and you’re on camera. So it’s not just China that is a cctv police state, they just happen to be excessively more invested in it.
Twisted views of a public safety issue. Plate readers are simply to help combat crime. They have caught numerous criminals, helped Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, pinpoint stolen cars and much more.
The final straw is you accusing the Sedona Police department of 89% of the documented violence!
I hope that insult gets you run out of town as fast as possible. Sedona doesnt need that kind of public voice. The Police Department has done a great job of risking their life in the line of duty and for a so called newspaper employee to trash them is unbelievable, but hey, your safe behind your keyboard! Good job!
Nobody trashed Sedona PD. So far as we know Sedona PD is not the agency installing the facial recognition cameras that are the center of this debate. That source has yet to be revealed so far as I know. Also Police Departments don’t have the authority to run anyone out of town despite doing so with the homeless. Nobody has that right not even an uber law enforcement zealot who probably speeds, doesn’t use turn signals and breaks all kinds of traffic laws. People have a 1st Amendment Right to voice their opinions!
I am glad that Mr. Perry is free to speak his mind. Here he is giving the city the what for.
https://sedonaaz.new.swagit.com/videos/346653?ts=811
Anyone who thinks the cameras being installed are just license plate readers is fooling their foolish selves. We are way past plate reader technology with the advent of AI facial recognition. The “cameras” are likely the exact same ones you see as you approach any border checkpoint and they’re doing far more than reading plates!
The photo in the story writers link is not a camera at all! It’s a sound sensor for emergency vehicles to activate with sirens when approaching intersections with red lights. The sensor prioritizes light changes to allow the emergency vehicles to pass through intersections more rapidly. It is also solar powered so even when power is out it isn’t. Cameras are not flat lenseless squares.
How traffic lights work for emergency vehicles-
https://youtu.be/nB8SzVezybM?feature=shared
ICE to purchase AI tech that scans eyes to increase deportations https://www.azfamily.com/2025/08/12/ice-purchase-ai-tech-that-scans-eyes-increase-deportations/
Prime example of a law enforcement tool being abused by Big Brother! The military used these iris cameras in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. They were supposed to scan detainees and suspected terrorist but they scanned everyone they came across or hired too. And the Taliban have access to that system now thanks to equipment left behind by US and Allied troops during the cluster f withdrawal. The cameras they have apparently have data in them pertaining to some of our Intelligence Community members. Normally the military destroys in place whatever they cannot take with them. There will be no accountability for any of this nonsense lessen the pro corruption POTUS and his pro corruption administration actually do some real work for once. Ah but they’re too deep in the pockets already aren’t they?