Owing to a previous appointment, I was unable to accept the invitation of Communications Minister Gerald Hadeed on January 24 for what turned out be a tour of the National Security Operations Centre (NSOC), which is now ensconced in the office complex at Knowsley in Port-of-Spain.
Based on the reports carried in the Express, I found frightening the privacy implications for law-abiding citizens. According to the Express report on the tour: "Several desks were neatly arranged to face large, split-screen monitors which were running real-time video of a number of areas around the country.
"Vehicles speeding along the Beetham Highway were clearly visible while NOC law enforcement personnel also monitored CCTV video of people and cars at the Parliament building on the Port-of-Spain Waterfront, Laventille and San Juan."The NOC team also showed...passengers checking in for flights at Piarco and live pictures of them passing through security scanners before they boarded their flights."
Newsday's account was even more specific: "Some of them showed live video footage from locations such as the Office of the Prime Minister, Trou Macaque and the Solomon Hochoy Highway near Tarouba."
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