Cctv Surveillance Issues

[Rob_P]

Basically I have to complete this for some crappy assignment so if you could take a few mins to vote for an answer that would be fantastic!

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE VOTING!

As figures go Britain currently has 4.2M CCTV cameras, thats one for every 14 people. Comprising 20% of the whole world (ish)

Of course, all of this comes from tax payers money, a total of £78 million of the crime budget, also a total of £500m of peoples money has been invested into crime prevention systems all over the UK.

There are all facts and figures at the end of the day but do you think it really makes a difference? I've tried to divide the answers up as best as possible but do you think our money should continue to be invested into what could be a lost cause? Or do you think CCTV is effective, like the Jamie Bulger case, london bombers? All caught on CCTV.

Thanks for taking the time in answering!!

Edited January 15, 2008 by Rob_P

[Skoze]

CCTV only seems to be effective after a crime has been commited, to find out what happened, how and by who etc.. So it doesnt really seem effective in stopping crimes from happening (in my opinion of course)

Matt

Edited January 15, 2008 by Skoze

[Dan6061]

Agreed with above.

You can get round CCTV, or atleast make it harder to get caught... You see chavs with their hoods up etc, making it hard to see who commited whatever crime.

Usually the image quality is fairly poor, and the FPS rate is slow, making it more difficult to catch the criminals.

Maybe higher definition cameras would help? And if they were motion censored, which coulc trigger an alarm for security or something...?

I voted for the middle one btw.

EDIT: It does have an affect though. Me and my mate were riding at the local industrial estate, and found a hole in the fence to this locked up bit. So we slyed our way through and had a look about, but saw the CCTV on some benches and stuff that looked alright to ride, so we didn't bother.

Edited January 15, 2008 by Dan6061

[N.Wood]

Many CCTV tapes are of such bad quality they're useless anyway...

And alot of people just use decoy camaras which are fine for prevention, but if a crime is commited they cause more harm than good.

[Max Quinn]

I voted the middle one, purely because it's the closest to what i think. But it's not really spot on.

I think CCTV is a good idea in escence but am also worriedabout the whole big brother thing. I hate the fact that the government could see you anywhere you are in public and if there ever is a corrupt government it's something that could f**k us over and give them too much power. It's gone too far imo. How far will it go? Train stations, important government buildings, private cctv fair enough but just random streets and stuff

[Endohopper]

This kind of surveillance has attracted criticism over here ( Holland ) for simply displacing the problem of criminal activity to other surrounding areas that lack CCTV .

[N.Wood]

This kind of surveillance has attracted criticism over here ( Holland ) for simply displacing the problem of criminal activity to other surrounding areas that lack CCTV .

Word... But then surely this concentrates the problem which makes it easier for the police to patrol these zones?

Or you just stick CCTV up EVERYWHERE and the criminals are f**ked. Or something.

[Endohopper]

...Or you just stick CCTV up EVERYWHERE ...

Kinda endless problem , huh ? Either pass legislation to cover the entire surface of the populated world with CCTV or prevent crime by unifying man and womankind in a utopian harmonious state where spiritually awakened souls realise that wrongdoing is visited upon themselves by the laws of Karma .

Guess not .

[James-M]

Let's just put it this way; Seeing CCTV somewhere would stop me from doing something baaad, so in that case my victims are let off, allowing them to feel safer. (Not that I would do anything, just talking as if I was some sort of criminal.)

[Max Quinn]

Or you just stick CCTV up EVERYWHERE and the criminals are f**ked. Or something.

Doesn't that thought creep you out Being watched everywhere you go and stuff. Just the thought of being watched by someone you can never see i don't really like. And i aso think being watched everywhere would just be an easy excuse for police to do you for every little menial crime we're all guilty of commiting just to raise there stats and become leet police officers.

Meh, this maybe just the stencill artist in me talking

[N.Wood]

Doesn't that thought creep you out B

Not really, i see what you're saying... but i don't really give a shit, when i A: don't do too much illegal shit and B : people are generally around where i go anyway.

[TomR]

It certainly has its benefits, monitoring routes of criminals etc for example the train bombers. Yes its only useful after a crimes been comitted in this case but you cant always stop these things happening, and you cant exactly let them get away with it just because you didnt prevent it.

Obviously acts as a deterrent to people as well but some of these people dont have the kind of mentality that woulld mean they were put off by CCTV.

IIRC London also has the largest number of facial recognoition CCTV, which in terms of national security has a massive benefit. Also if you lose a vehicle full of suicide bombers you can put out an alert and find it pretty quick, otherwise youd be stuffed and forced to rely on man power, which is often inadequate.

[Dan6061]

Kinda offtopic, but I'm sure I heard somewhere that they're fitting speakers in lamposts to stop criminals?

So the security people can shout at them through a lampost.

[James-M]

Kinda offtopic, but I'm sure I heard somewhere that they're fitting speakers in lamposts to stop criminals?

So the security people can shout at them through a lampost.

Haha something a bit like that has happened to me before. I rode in a multi-storey car park/Shopping Centre and I heard, "OFF YER BIKE MATE!" Was like 'Shit! The walls are talking!'

[Mark W]

Iiiiiiiiiiin... Middlesborough, I think it was, they tried a pilot scheme of using CCTV cameras with built in speakers so that people could be told off for dropping litter and stuff like that. However, no-one was really comfortable with the idea, so I doubt it'll take off. There was a government proposal for CCTV cameras to be equipped with highly sensitive microphones too, but that idea got sacked off when someone probably pointed out the book '1984' to them.

CCTV cameras are probably a minor deterrent to people. I don't really agree with the "If you put some CCTV cameras here, they'll go and do X over there", largely because CCTV cameras are put in places for reasons, and the reason the cameras ARE there is usually the reason the criminal scum is there anyway.

I just don't really notice them any more, living in Central London I know I'm pretty much always on CCTV and I can kinda deal with it, I guess.

[Rob_P]

Thanks guys for voting and all the answers as well!! Tis a good topic really, well the best one out of contextual studies, it was either this or postmodernism and "the gaze", sack that.

Also it leads onto the question about speed cameras, do they prevent car accidents etc. Same thing really (you don't need to answer that)

[James-M]

Thanks guys for voting and all the answers as well!! Tis a good topic really, well the best one out of contextual studies, it was either this or postmodernism and "the gaze", sack that.

Also it leads onto the question about speed cameras, do they prevent car accidents etc. Same thing really (you don't need to answer that)

I believe they do at some point, because if you see them you will slow down, whereas if you have a TomTom you know that there aren't any speed cameras around so you belt it...Hmmm (Even though I was not supposed to answer that one )