Are They an Answer?
Standing in the elevator of a big bureau, sitting in the waiting room of your doctor’s office, chilling with your colleagues in the coffee room, you suddenly notice something in the corner of two walls. A one-eyed creature is looking at you, recording your every move.
It has not been a long time since the closed-circuit cameras have been introduced , at least to the public. They are cameras linked to televisions in which signals are privately received and monitored. In the past, CCTV (closed circuit television) systems used to have a low-quality black and white image, but modern systems display high-resolution images in color. According to BBC, the average United Kingdom citizen is caught on CCTV cameras 300 times a day.
Similar to all the new technologies, CCTV has its own advantages and disadvantages. But in a modern society, the advantages are a lot more. Though there are some privacy concerns about it, the innovation of CCTV systems is majorly significant, as it has solved many of city-life issues forever.
According to an article called “The effects of CCTV on Crime: What Works Briefing” by the college of policing, generally, the use of CCTV has definitely reduced crime, but when we make this generalization we should pay attention to two issues: 1. What the type of the crime is. and 2. What the setting of the CCTV intervention is. CCTV has been successful in reducing theft but it has had little effect on the amount of violence.
Using cameras in the streets and highways, has become something for the careless drivers to fear, as the police can watch the recorded videos and observe the number of each car, to later fine them. The same thing happens in supermarkets, stores and boutiques, where there are some signs on the wall informing the customer that there are cameras. This has successfully decreased the shoplifting incidents.
In 2013, A family were able to have their child-abusing baby-sitter arrested using a hidden camera. Apparently the family has had a dog who whenever saw the baby-sitter used to bark at her. The parents observe the dog’s behavior and get suspicious, so they decide to install a camera in the house. It turned out the baby-sitter abused the child everyday when she was alone with him.
A few years ago, one of friends realized someone is getting money using her ATM card. She brought the issue to the police and they suggested they can take a look at the video recorded by the camera on the ATM machine from which her ATM card has last been used. They watched the video and my recognized the person using the machine, her roommate.
Crime prevention is not the only side of using CCTVs. Some governments use CCTV cameras in public buildings to be always aware what is going on in those places daily.
There used to be a cafe in the city where I lived, located in a busy street where people felt comfortable hanging out with their friends in the afternoons, smoking and drinking coffee. But the cafe was closed after two years. The owners were informed that according to the new law, they have to install cameras inside the cafe so that what goes on in it can be monitored; and the TVs can only be observed by the authorities, not the owners of the place. The owners refused to allow this, so the authorities closed the cafe forever.
I used to be an English Teacher in an institute were they used cameras inside the classes to monitor the teachers’ way of instructing and see if the teachers are faithful to the special methods of teaching that the institute was trying to promote. At first, I felt a little insecure and self-conscious, knowing every single thing I do or say can be watched and analyzed by the people who have hired me. But when I looked at it from the point of view of the owners of the institute, I agreed with them for wanting to make sure their students are being taught the way they have been promised to be. Of course when I realized that there are cameras even in the coffee room, I was offended.
Both installing and maintaining CCTV is expensive. Plus, everyday there may be an update for the cameras so it should be decided wether the existing system needs upgrading or not. A research in 2002 has showed that annual cost for local government CCTV systems in different cities of Australia is as follows: Sydney $900,000, Melbourne $400,000, Adelaide $310,000, Ipswich $444,000, Fairfield $340,000, and Toowoomba $85,000.
There are good sides and bad to any new technology introduced to a society for the first time. The best thing to do is to teach the culture of using that technology and make sure people’s privacy is not limited by it for the sake of reducing crimes.
Works Cited
BBC, CCTV: Does it work?, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2071496.stm> Web: December 10, 2014.
Ciampanelli, Paul. DOG SAVES CHILD FROM BABYSITTER ABUSE, <http://www.pawnation.com/2013/09/12/dog-saves-child-from-baby-sitter-abuse/>, Web: December 10, 2014.
National Community Crime Prevention Programme, CCTV as a crime prevention measure
What is CCTV?, <http://www.crimeprevention.gov.au/NationalCommunityCrimePreventionProgramme/Documents/Tip_Sheet_5.pdf> Web: December 10, 2014.
