Fighting Crime From Above?

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville of the Met Police's CCTV Unit has admitted that the UK is not using CCTV camera surveillance systems properly.  Mick tells Newsnight that, "CCTV is not being used to tackle crime as well as it should because some forces do not know how to use it effectively".

BBC News reports:

Most forces do not have systems to retrieve, process and distribute CCTV crime scene images.  Officers in some London boroughs are failing to solve any tier one and two crimes such as serious assaults and robberies using CCTV, he added.

A new study says there may be a million fewer UK CCTV cameras than thought.

He added: "Because we had CCTV first, we made all the mistakes.  And the mistake was spend it on kit, don't spend it on people or processes and that's what's gone wrong.  Unless there is a systematic way of gathering CCTV then it will continue not to be as effective as it could be."

"What I would say," he continued, "is we've got enough cameras, let's stop now, we don't want any more cameras.

"Let's invest that money that's available and use it for the training of people, and the processes to make sure whatever we've captured is effectively used."

His comments come as the government is considering whether every CCTV camera in the country should be registered and whether the entire industry should be regulated.

It's great to hear this public official not make false claims of success and also that the system needs to be improved.  I agree with Mick that a camera registration program should be put in place for private cameras.  I also agree that regulation is a good thing, because it will provide guidelines for practices and technologies for the private and public sector.  If we approach CCTV surveillance systems systematically using a research based approach, we will be building powerful tools for investigation analysis. We may even be able to leverage some aspects of deterrence, as found in parking lots.

While the UK did embrace CCTV technologies first, it does not appear that the U.S. is learning from the U.K.'s mis-steps.  Now is the time to start collecting effectiveness data so we can make more informed decisions going forward.