Considering Local Context When Evaluating a Closed Circuit Television System in Public Spaces

• NCJ Number: 236350
• Author(s): Jessica Anderson; Amanda McAtamney
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 430, October 2011

Annotation

This report discusses lessons learned by local agencies when implementing a closed circuit television (CCTV) system that was administered through a grants program.

Abstract

Agencies interviewed generally reported: needing guidance on identifying and measuring the information required to implement and evaluate a CCTV project; using CCTV systems as a means of tackling antisocial behavior, property damage and/or community perceptions of safety, as well as providing evidentiary support for police; able to apply good practice principles when selecting CCTV locations by reviewing the available literature, gathering crime statistics to identify areas of concern, consulting with key stakeholders and selecting CCTV technology that best fitted with their costs and aims; and being able to develop clear, consistent aims for the CCTV system seen as essential to gaining community support and to limiting resistance to CCTV implementation. Agencies also recognized the importance of clearly identifying who would use the system and for what purpose it would be used. This could reduce the risk of problems, such as installing the wrong sort of cameras and associated equipment; for example, cameras more suited to daytime use when the crime problem usually occurred at night, or installing pan, tilt and zoom (movable) cameras when static cameras would be more appropriate as the footage was not intended to be monitored in real-time. Other potential problems include choosing inappropriate locations to mount surveillance; for example, planning to place cameras on private businesses prior to gaining consent from the owners, installing cameras that were positioned in a way that could look into homes and therefore invade people's privacy, or placing cameras in areas that did not have a high crime rate for the targeted problem. None of the agencies interviewed viewed CCTV as a panacea for local crime problems. Many implemented CCTV in conjunction with other crime prevention initiatives as part of a multifaceted, concerted crime prevention effort. Tables and references