Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz on Friday defended Brown University leadership on Newsmax, amid criticism over campus security cameras in the wake of last weekend’s deadly shooting.
The backlash, he told Newsmax's "Newsline," is "total hypocrisy."
"The same people who are demanding cameras were complaining when cameras were put in," said Dershowitz.
Brown President Christina Paxson has said that she didn't think "more cameras could have helped in this situation. We relied on the cameras around the neighborhood."
Dershowitz rejected the premise that Paxson should be held responsible.
"She did what she thought was right to try to strike a balance between too many cameras and too few cameras," he said.
Dershowitz said the university may reconsider its approach after the shooting, but argued that the current criticism ignores the competing pressures universities face.
"Obviously, they will reconsider and put more cameras in," he said. "But I think that this didn't cause any delay."
Paxson, he added, is being "scapegoated for not putting in cameras when many of the people, I'm sure the [American] Civil Liberties Union people were saying, don't put in cameras, we don't want cameras."
"I remember actively opposing people who were saying, 'Don't put in cameras. It violates civil liberties ... No, we don't want you to know where we are. We don't want you to photograph us,'" he added.
Dershowitz said opposition to surveillance cameras has been common in public debate for years, including legal challenges.
"In fact, I think some lawsuits were brought to prevent cameras from being put in streets and in universities," he said.
Despite his criticism of the camera opponents, Dershowitz said he supports greater use of surveillance for public safety and said the debate should be more consistent.
"So there should be cameras," he said. "I believe in cameras. I'm a strong supporter of, and I think there should be more of them. But stop objecting to the cameras on civil liberties grounds if you want to be safe."
Dershowitz said Brown and other institutions should be able to improve security without being attacked by those who oppose surveillance in one moment and demand it in the next, adding that public safety debates require "an appropriate balance" between privacy concerns and protection.
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