But we're not talking about infrared cameras or wall-penetrating radar or even directional antennas... just cameras that have the same limitations as a human standing on the street corner.
That, in itself, does not constitute stalking or invasion of privacy.
If we pass laws saying "No cameras in public," or "No stationary cameras in public," or "No cameras capable of storing more than X megabytes of image data per day in public," or "No public cameras equipped with OCR capability," then we will handicap ourselves far more than we will the police. (Who will, in any event, simply ignore any laws they find inconvenient.)
That, in itself, does not constitute stalking or invasion of privacy.
If we pass laws saying "No cameras in public," or "No stationary cameras in public," or "No cameras capable of storing more than X megabytes of image data per day in public," or "No public cameras equipped with OCR capability," then we will handicap ourselves far more than we will the police. (Who will, in any event, simply ignore any laws they find inconvenient.)