In the changing life-style towards much self-centered based/isolated one, social protection of mankind is losing its grounds very fast. Further, un-concerned people in law and order protection machinery aggregate the situation of surveillance and protection of a common man. Then people look forward towards technology and electronic surveillance in general and CCTV surveillance in particular is looked by people as an effective mode of electronic surveillance and it is expected that the use of CCTVs would keep the people around us from beating us, robbing us, burning our buildings and burglarizing our homes. It is said that CCTV could play in important role in preventing and detecting crime. CCTV (closed-circuit television) is now a multimillion-dollar business, used by councils, police departments, government authorities, transport departments and private businesses to monitor a wide range of activities. It is often the first thing politicians ask for when there is a crime problem in their area. However, it may not necessarily be the best method of preventing crime. The innovative service these cameras uniquely encourage communities to share information with local authorities about their specific security problems. Successful pilot installations have seen the concept embraced by communities, police and local councils with each initial camera installation spreading to neighboring areas. Communities have praised their councils for taking this initiative with them, and people protected by this unique camera service now depend on it to keep them safe. Some of the latest to benefit are families and businesses and accordingly “This service has transformed all our lives,” is a typical comment from residents who are under this service’s protection, and “we would not have taken on this business here if it wasn’t for this camera”.
CCTV surveillance failing reports
- CCTV surveillance is being thought as a pinnacle of safety but with all observations related to CCTV surveillance and its non-deterrence effect on criminals cast doubt on the spread of CCTV surveillance. Every day we are listening about the installation of CCTVs in every nook and corner to keep a check on the crimes in the society. It is an irony however, that with massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of rupees spent on the new technology. We always come across the news in media about breaking of ATMs, robbery at shopping complexes, at petrol pumps, at shops, crimes at different spots with all these happenings captured in CCTVs. Sometimes, the culprits play with the CCTVs before committing the crimes and most of the times they do not even bother about their acts of crime being recorded in CCTVs. It is reported that only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe. It’s about the total failure of CCTV to deter people from committing crimes in the first place. Next is the story about surveillance and to make use of CCTV footage to apprehend rioters after the fact. Use of CCTV was originally seen as a preventative measure not a source to go after the criminals after committing the crime. If handled properly it can be a superb preventative tool.
- The millions of CCTV cameras on streets have done virtually nothing to cut crime. The findings are a blow to administration that has turned to CCTV as their main weapon in preventing crime.
- In many developed countries, study after study has concluded that CCTVs don’t deter most crime and at best, the crime is shifted a few meters down the pavement where the CCTV went up. It is a point of debate whether an aggressive plan to use CCTVs in the neighborhood would help pacify the notorious high-crime people. The deterrence theory of CCTV relied on the idea that the deterred were making smart choices about their futures and would avoid crime if the consequences might catch up with them. Thieves, hooligans/rioters and criminals are committing all the crimes without bothering that their presence will be recorded in the CCTVs. The deterrence theory of surveillance had no nexus with the motivations of the rioters. The theory of street crime as a rational act is bankrupt. Evidence-led CCTV deployment shows us where CCTVdoes work, and that’s in situations where crimes are planned, not pulled off in the heat of the moment.
- It is only assured that CCTVs will make the public feel safer where as the use of CCTVs has failed miserably to slash crime. Only a very few crime cases are being solved with use of CCTVs footages. Sometimes the footages are not of good quality, many times CCTVs are not functional and in most of the cases, criminals are over smart to douse the CCTVs. The vast swathes of money spent on cameras had been wasted because criminals don’t fear the cameras. Moreover, the people working in the control room to have an eye on the CCTV coverage and footages generally do not bother to seek out CCTV images because it’s “hard work”. Thousands of rupees have been spent on CCTV kit, but no thought has gone into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be used in court. The reports into the government’s DNA database have revealed that the huge expansion of the CCTVs installation scheme has brought fewer than a thousand criminals to justice. It is also of great concern if CCTV images of individuals going about their daily lives were retained. There is a great need to expect adequate safeguards to be put in place to ensure the images are only used for crime detection purposes, stored securely and that access to images is restricted to authorized individuals.
- Installation of CCTV devices for surveillance, much of the crime and antisocial disorder has moved out to areas where there are no cameras. Whilst this is good news for some, it is unfair for the many surrounding business and residential communities that are now living and working in fear. Even worse for today’s security climate, and a major security risk for any city, the high costs of fighting crime continues to soar where there are no cameras, but such neglected areas can be a source of high crime. A specialist for CCTV has rightly saidthat “Failure in one part of a safe city system can lead to catastrophic events in other parts of the system. Displacement of crime is a classic example of this, where a juvenile getting away with misdemeanours and antisocial disorder, could lead to terrorism in their later life”.
- CCTV was originally seen as a preventative measure. Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be used in court. Use of CCTV images for court evidence has so far been very poor.
- Retailers have been warned that relying on CCTV cameras to protect their goods is useless as shoplifters are now so good at stealing they are hardly bothered by the surveillance. Shoplifting and retail crime cost the Scottish economy 166 million Pounds a year, with the proceeds mainly being spent on drugs, but experts are now claiming that high-profile video cameras offer shops little protection. CCTV should not be the only thing that stores rely on because shoplifters obviously go to huge efforts to gain from their acts.
- CCTV schemes in town centres do not stop drunken street violence breaking out, according to new research. But cameras do alert police to assaults and reduce the number of people treated at casualty departments. Scientists also say CCTV has reduced the severity of injuries suffered in street brawls. But the studyconcludes there is no evidence of the surveillance systems having a deterrent effect. The benefit of CCTV might lie less in preventing such offences but more in facilitating a faster police response to arguments or assaults in public spaces, which limits their duration and therefore reduces the incidence and seriousness of injury.
Points to make CCTV surveillance more effective
- CCTV can play an important role in helping to prevent and detect crime. However we would expect adequate safeguards to be put in place to ensure the images are only used for crime detection purposes, stored securely and that access to images is restricted to authorized individuals. We would have concerns if CCTV images of individuals going about their daily lives were retained as part of the initiative. With a view that anything that helps get criminals off the street and prevents crime is good, CCTV If handled properly it can be a superb preventative tool.
- The technology breakthrough with an intelligent moving camera overcomes privacy issues, to automate surveillance and play a major role in optimizing the key human element of city wide security. Laying to rest privacy concerns and delighting residents, the cameras’ built-in software means the recordings of people’s activity can be based on behavior and location rather than how people look. If required, the camera protocols can only allow the viewing of; live images when a crime is actually under way, and recordings relevant to a particular incident.
- More training is needed for officers in control of CCTV surveillance. Often they do not want to find CCTV images “because it’s hard work”. Sometimes the police did not bother inquiring beyond local councils to find out whether CCTV cameras monitored a particular street incident. CCTV operators need feedback. If you call them back, they feel valued and are more helpful.
- CCTV cameras should only be used in specific target areas where they are known to be effective – rather than the ‘current broad application’. Critics of CCTV say that improving police patrols or street lighting would be more effective, and that cameras can even increase crime by encouraging people to drop their guard.
Conclusion
Researchers said control room operation was an important factor in a CCTV system’s ability to detect crime. About half of the control rooms involved were staffed for less than 24 hours a day. The truth is that CCTV is a powerful tool that society is only just beginning to understand. It looks simple to use, but it is not. It has many components, and they can impact in different ways. It is more than just a technical solution; it requires human intervention to work to maximum efficiency and the problems it helps deal with are complex. We behave ourselves because of our social contract, the collection of written and unwritten rules that bind us together by instilling us with internal surveillance in the form of conscience and aspiration. It is only better to have local people policing and local people only can be hired to work in it. It is the very model of giving people a chance and a stake in their neighborhood. CCTVs everywhere are an invitation to walk away from the contract and our duty to one another, to become the lawlessness the CCTV is meant to prevent. Overall, it can be concluded that CCTV reduces crime to a small degree. An evidence-based approach to crime prevention which uses the highest level of science available offers the strongest formula for building a safer society. A second report on the impact of street lighting concluded that better illumination could be a cheap way of cutting illegal activity, especially in crime hotspots. Increasingly CCTV plays an important role not just in deterring crime, but in detecting it. Efforts should continue to evaluate how we can make best use of CCTV and street lighting, whether it’s to reduce fear of crime for the public or to provide valuable evidence for the police.
Acknowledgement: The use of information retrieved through various references/sources of internet in this article is highly acknowledged.
