CCTV DECREASED CRIME

CCTV Decreased Crime

CCTV Decreased Crime

Introduction

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) seeks to reduce crime primarily by increasing the perception among potential offenders that there is an increased risk of detection and capture (Ratcliffe, 2006). Proponents of CCTV argue that increased surveillance will reduce crime and increase arrests of offenders, while opponents lament the invasion of privacy in public areas and point to research findings that are less than definitive. Irrespective of the theoretical validity of the crime prevention role of CCTV systems, the growth of CCTV schemes across numerous countries (including the USA) has been substantial. The history of CCTV technology is one of rapid evolution from static, low-resolution cameras to high quality technology solutions that can pan, tilt, and zoom at the command (through either wireless interface or fiber optic cable) of remote operators connected to a police radio network. This implementation and technological expansion of CCTV schemes has, until recently, taken place in an environment largely devoid of rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of CCTV to prevent crime (see Welsh & Farrington, 2007, for a comprehensive review).

The emergence of CCTV has taken place during a period when crime analysis has improved in resolution (both spatial and temporal) enabling academic research and practitioner focus to become more place-specific rather than generalized to the neighborhood level (Mazerolle, Hurley, & Chamlin, 2002), and during a period that has seen the rise of problem-oriented policing (Clarke, 2004; Goldstein, 2003) as an operational strategy that can capitalize on the analytical improvements available. Intelligence-led policing has provided a business model to coordinate crime detection and prevention activities, through which problem-oriented policing can flow in an operational environment (Ratcliffe, 2008). From the earliest wide-scale implementation of CCTV technology in Britain in the 1980s, however, the assessment of CCTV schemes has been significantly hampered on two fronts. Numerous well-meaning evaluations have lacked either an impartial perspective and/or methodological rigor. For example, many have been either conducted by city agencies or technology companies involved in the scheme and whom may be perceived to have vested interests in the evaluation outcomes; or, like the earliest independent evaluation of a CCTV implementation from King's Lynn, UK (Brown, 1995)—where 19 cameras were installed at public car parks across the city—had methodological limitations due to a lack of controls for seasonality or long-term temporal trends. Numerous other studies since King's Lynn have lacked measures of control areas, controls for seasonal variation, or have been absent of any indicators of potential displacement (or diffusion of benefits).

Furthermore, the existing evaluation literature demonstrates considerable variation in not only methodology, but also outcome measures and independent variables. Some studies examine the impact of cameras on crime within a defined distance of CCTV cameras (Harada, Yonezato, Suzuki, Shimada, Era, & Saito, 2004), while others surveyed residents in camera areas for their perceptions of how crime has changed (Squires, 2003). Other studies have interviewed key stakeholders (Hood, 2003) or examined emergency room attendance levels related to assaults (Sivarajasingam, Shepherd, & Matthews, ...