Poll: 78% Now OK With More Surveillance Cameras

Public opinion is firmly behind having more surveillance cameras in public places in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, according to a new CBS/New York Times poll. Some 78% of people called the cameras—which helped identify the suspects—a good idea, and only 20% said the government had gone too far in restricting civil liberties to fight terrorism, the poll found. "There are cameras in stores and supermarkets," one respondent, a saleswoman in Florida, said in a follow-up interview. "Our families would be safer and surveillance cameras would provide evidence to help agencies pursue people, like they just did in Boston."

The poll found that 66% of Americans believe another terrorist attack is at least somewhat likely in the next few months, up from just 37% at this time last year, according to the poll, which also found that the public gave law enforcement agencies high marks for their handling of the bombings. Some 84% approved of how law enforcement dealt with the attacks, and 68%—including 47% of Republicans—approved of President Obama's response. (More surveillance stories.)