How do close-circuit television cameras impact crimes and clearances? An evaluation of the Milwaukee police department’s public surveillance system

2012 ◽

pp. 25-32

Author(s):

Christina M. Akrivopoulou

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Policy Making ◽

The Political ◽

Political Autonomy ◽

The Public ◽

Public Surveillance ◽

The Individual ◽

The Uk ◽

The Right ◽

Camera Surveillance

This chapter is critically commenting on the augmenting policy of public surveillance through the ‘Public Camera Surveillance’ system (CCTV technology) in Greece and in other countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. It presents the arguments in favor and against such policies and the main threats that such policy-making poses for the freedom of the individual as represented in the relevant jurisprudence of the ECtHR. The main argument of the presentation underlines the need for the interpretive deduction of a right to anonymity or otherwise of a right to public privacy from the traditional notion of privacy. This right enables the individual to enjoy his/her privacy in public, thus allowing him/her to circulate in public assured that his/her presence will remain anonymous and permitting him/her to merge within the rest of the crowd. Such a right is specifically valuable in order to protect the political autonomy of the individual as a participant of demonstrations and public movements or manifestations under the precondition that his/her deeds do not merit the state’s intervention. The presentation closes with some remarks on the changing social and political ethos that brings forward the demand of public surveillance as a need for public safety.

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The effect of public surveillance cameras on crime clearance rates

10.31235/osf.io/eh5bg ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yeondae Jung ◽

Andrew Palmer Wheeler

Keyword(s):

Research Design ◽

Clearance Rate ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Crime Reduction ◽

Clearance Rates ◽

Camera Placement ◽

Public Surveillance ◽

Surveillance Cameras ◽

Close Circuit Television ◽

Crime Clearance

Much research has examined the crime reduction benefits of public close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, suggesting that cameras may not deter enough crime to justify their cost. Another benefit of CCTV though is its utility in investigations and in clearing cases, which has been much less studied. Using a sample of public crimes and case clearances in Dallas, Texas, we examine the efficacy that public CCTV cameras increase case clearance rates using a pre-post research design. We find that cases closer to cameras did have an increased clearance rate after the cameras were installed in Dallas. But the effects faded quite quickly in space, and were mostly limited to thefts. While our estimates here suggest the cameras are likely not cost-effective in this sample in terms of increasing clearances, it suggests there is potential to be more targeted in camera placement that might provide better justification for their (limited) use.

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