There is no peer-reviewed research that shows modern surveillance equipment and related technologies are effective in deterring violent crime in public or private spaces. There is some evidence that cameras are effective in deterring property crime, and there are observations that images from surveillance cameras are being used to apprehend and secure convictions of criminals.
There are two types of CCTV surveillance systems used in society:
- Public sector – these systems are positioned in public spaces and are monitored by police departments or other government agencies. Sometimes even by a private sector partnership.
- Private sector – these systems are positioned in private spaces and are monitored by their owners. Police departments use evidence from these cameras when incidents get recorded on them.
Publicly managed cameras tend to be pricey and focus on streets, parks, sidewalks, and parking lots. Sometimes these cameras feed back to a command center where they are monitored 24 hours a day. The Cost Per Camera (CPC) can run from $10,000 and $25,000 each.
Privately managed cameras outnumber public camera by a large ratio. It is uknown what this ratio is, but it is probably 10:1 in most cities. Privately owned and operated cameras have the potential to be more effective because they work at what I call a "higher focus" than a public camera. Private cameras are cheaper and are typically installed both inside and outside of a business or other location.
Public and private cameras can have the following features:
- 24 hour a day monitoring. This requires a command center and enough staff to monitor the cameras on different shifts. This can be a very pricey proposition.
- Cameras can be combined with other technologies. These technologies can include alarm monitoring, card access, gun shot detectors, radiation detectors, or even credit card transactions. Depending on the context of the installation, some technologies have the potential to be more effective than others.
There are many different types of crime, but they are generally grouped into two categories
- Violent Crimes (see Wikipedia's violent crime page)
- Property Crime (see Wikipedia's property crime page
The TAGS section on this blog hopes to break down camera installations by context.
It is my belief both private and public systems can be effective in certain contexts using a combination of technology and practices. THE SCORECARD on this blog hopes to categorize noteworthy system implementations so the reader can learn what appears to be effective, and what isn't.
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Last Updated 8/17/09
