WATCHLIST: MEDINA, WASHINGTON MONITORS EVERY VEHICLE THAT ENTERS TOWN

Seattle Times - Cameras installed at Medina intersections monitor every vehicle coming into the city. The cameras capture all license-plate numbers, in a crime-prevention measure that one council member says "outweighs concern over privacy.". . . City signs have a unique way of greeting people. In Issaquah, for instance, motorists are told they're entering "a special place where people care." For years, Bothell invited people to stay "for a day or a lifetime." In Medina, a new sign bears this warning: "You Are Entering a 24 Hour Video Surveillance Area.". . . Under the "automatic license plate recognition" project, once a car enters Medina, a camera captures its license-plate number. Within seconds, the number is run through a database. . . Medina - a city of 3,100 with an average household income of $222,000 - had discussed the idea for years as a way to discourage crime, city officials said. Last year, there were 11 burglaries. . . Medina City Councilmember Lucius Biglow said crime prevention "outweighs concern over privacy. Privacy is considerably less nowadays than it was, say, 50 years ago."