The Impact of Video Surveillance on Society

Most people feel safer under video surveillance, if they know they are being watched.

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of video surveillance cameras in New York City and many other American towns and cities skyrocketed. However, few of those towns and cities have closely examined the costs and benefits of video surveillance and its effects on society as a whole. Proponents of video surveillance see it as a remedy to crime and disorder in public places, while opponents see it as an invasion of personal privacy.

Crime Prevention

Fewer studies of video surveillance have been conducted in the United States than in some other countries, such as the United Kingdom, making it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about its effect on crime prevention. However, studies of closed-circuit television camera systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco -- the results of which were published in 2008 -- revealed little or no statistically significant change in the level of crime before and after the cameras were installed.

Displacement

The introduction of video surveillance, in the form of CCTV cameras, can result in a phenomenon known as displacement. Displacement occurs when criminals react to video surveillance not by ceasing criminal activity, but by changing the way they operate to commit crimes out of sight of CCTV cameras. Displacement may cause criminals to operate less effectively, resulting in a net reduction in the overall level of crime.

Fear of Crime

Numerous studies of CCTV in public places have shown that people react to video surveillance in one of two ways. The majority of people under video surveillance generaly have a reduced fear of crime and feel safer, provided they actually know that they are being watched. This may, in turn, cause more people to use the area under surveillance, increasing natural surveillance. However, a sizeable minority of people -- about one-third, according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing -- felt less safe under video surveillance, concluding that the purpose of CCTV was “to spy on people.”

Terrorism

Modern video surveillance systems are able to identify, track and investigate the activities of formerly anonymous individuals. They may, in some cases, help law enforcement agencies to identify criminals, but there is little evidence that they deter acts of terrorism. The movements of the Sept. 11 hijackers and the suspects responsible for the London bombings in July 2005 were recorded on CCTV, but the footage served only as a grim diary of events in the aftermath of the attacks.

References

• ACLU: Expert Findings on Surveillance Cameras; Noam Biale
• Center for Problem-Oriented Policing; Video Surveillance of Public Places; Jerry Ratcliffe; February 2006
• New York Civil Liberties Union: Who’s Watching?; oren Siegel, Robert A. Perry and Margaret Hunt Gram; 2006
• The Constitution Project: Guidelines for Public Video Surveillance; 2007