CCTV Security
Cameras and CCTV DVR Recorders
Crime prevention and detection
Closed-circuit security cameras are
often used to discourage crime. In the United Kingdom, initial
experiments in the 1970s and 1980s (including outdoor CCTV being
installed in Bournemouth in 1985), led to in several larger trial
programs in the early 1990s. These were deemed successful in the
government report "CCTV: Looking Out For You", issued by the Home
Office in 1994, and paved a way with massive increase in the number
of CCTV systems installed. Nowadays systems cover most town and city
centers, and many stations, car-parks and estates.
The exact number
of CCTV security cameras in the UK is not known. A 2002 working paper by
Michael McCahill and Clive Norris of UrbanEye, based on a small
sample in Putney High Street, "guesstimated" the number of
surveillance cameras in private premises in London as around 400,000
and the total number of cameras in the UK as around 4,000,000.
Many CCTV users now add a Digital Recorder (CCTV DVR Recorder) to their system.
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Claims that they reduce or deter
crime have not been clearly borne out by independent studies, though
the government claims that when properly used they do result in
deterrence, rather than displacement. One clear effect that has been
is a reduction of car crime when used in car parks. Cameras have
also been installed in taxis in various parts of the country, to
deter violence against drivers, and also in mobile police
surveillance vans. In some cases CCTV cameras have become a target
of attacks themselves.
The use of CCTV in the United States is less prevalent, though
increasing, and generally meets stronger opposition. In 1998 3,000
CCTV systems were found in New York City.
The most measurable effect of CCTV is not on crime prevention, but
on detection and prosecution. Several notable murder cases have been
solved with the use of CCTV evidence, notably the Jamie Bulger case,
and catching David Copeland, the Soho nail bomber. The use of CCTV
to track the movements of missing children is now routine.
The men believed to have been responsible for the 7 July attacks on
London, captured on CCTV. After the bombings of London on 7 July
2005, CCTV footage was used to identify the bombers. The media was
surprised that few tube trains actually had CCTV cameras, and there
were some calls for this to be increased.
On July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police at
Stockwell tube station. CCTV footage has debunked some police
claims. Because of the follow-up bombing attempts the previous day,
some of the tapes had been supposedly removed from various CCTV
cameras, for study, and they were not functional. Source: Wikipedia