What Is that Weird Looking Camera Contraption Set Up At Timberline And Mulberry?

I was driving back home from one of my workouts at the gym last week when I noticed a strange thing perched in the median at the intersection of Mulberry and Timberline in Fort Collins.

I it looks like a generator with a 15-foot-tall pole sticking up out of it with a couple of security cameras attached. Turns out…that’s exactly what it is. Now why is it sitting there?

It is apparently a panhandling deterrent and a way for police to enforce Larimer Counties recently passed panhandling restrictions. (They went into effect January 7^th, 2013.)

It is a set of cameras that can observe the entire intersection and help police keep an eye out for those who choose to violate the new rules.

From the Coloradoan,

The camera runs on a gas-powered generator and feeds an online video stream back to the sheriff’s office, where deputies can monitor remotely whether panhandlers are setting up shop in the forbidden zone.

The mulberry and Timberline intersection was a very busy place for panhandlers so I can see why they chose this location for the camera.

So, don’t worry, big brother is not try to watch you run red lights or catch you texting and driving. All big brother is trying to do is keep panhandlers from breaking the law and/or getting themselves or someone else hurt.

Things like this make it not so hard to imagine a Demolition Man-esque future do they?

[Coloradoan]