Safety is important, no one will argue that, but encouraging rampant paranoia is an entirely different bag of worms. Cue, Business Safe, a new initiative in Florida to help you turn in any “unsavory types” who might be prowling around a storefront near you.

Business Safe?

Ostensibly it’s not a bad idea. It’s designed to help business owners keep track of any suspicious behavior on their property and in their area. The real trouble is in the overtones, which lean heavily towards Deputizing citizens to help flush out threats to national security.

They encourage you to report any suspicious activity, from someone photographing your business all the way to “strange” activity coming from your neighbors. Considering how serious accusations like this are taken, how loosely defined the criteria for reporting is, and how apt people are to jump to conclusions, this seems like a recipe for trouble.

Even with the appropriate due diligence, how many false alarms are going to be generated when you turn national security into a glorified PostSecret? Take a look for yourself and tell me what you think.

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