Ray Kelly is a man who knows his way around a surveillance scandal, so you might think he’d have some sympathy for the NSA. However, the police commissioner has split with the federal government on the NSA’s phone and data collection programs, saying, “I don’t think it ever should have been made secret.” Unsurprisingly, Kelly believes that the public will happily give up some privacy in the name of safety. “I think the American public can accept the fact if you tell them that every time you pick up the phone it’s going to be recorded and it goes to the government,” Kelly says. “I think the public can understand that. I see no reason why that program was placed in the secret category.” Surely it’s just a coincidence that the feds recently defied Kelly by recommending an independent monitor for the NYPD.
