License, Registration and Blood Count

I guess it’s only ironic that the same week we are reading about surveillance for our class there is a front page story on the Hartford Courant involving a high-tech form of surveillance that many people don’t even know exists – of, course, until you read this article.
Courant Staff Writer Tracy Gordon Fox reports that a 45-year-old Suffield, CT woman was pulled over by inspectors from the state Department of Motor Vehicles because she had set off a nuclear radioactive alarm. The alarm that the woman had set off is only the size of a pager and is designed to detect hazardous materials that are being transported inside large trucks. The woman set off the alarm because she had a radioactive substance in her bloodstream from a common medical test.
After reading this story I couldn’t help but think what type of other devices are law enforcement using to keep surveillance on the general public. We’re all aware of the video cameras at stores, restaurants, banks and ATM’s, but what else is out there? And how much privacy do we really have?
I understand that the devices are meant to help protect the public by stopping large trucks that are transporting radioactive material, but it just makes you wonder what other devices are being used. I guess it’s just a reflection of the times that we live in and the fact that we have to give up a little bit of our privacy to secure our safety and I think most people are ok with this. However, I can see where someone could feel slightly violated because they were pulled over due to something in their bloodstream.