|
|
|||||
| index / surveillance / reality.TV | |||||
|
|
|||||
> CCTV doesn't work - official! > (KDIS)
|
Imagine: You walk down the street - and someone is taking pictures of you - permanently - at every crossroad, in front of every departement store, when you pass a bank, when you enter the subway station. Annoying? - Why? He promisses that he would delete all pictures after 24hours - if you behave correctly. Still annoying? You would probably tell this guy to #%&!-off - and that he has no right to take pictures of you all the time - and that you have the rights on your pictures - and that you want to see your pictures. With surveillance cameras, it's just not that easy. Try to look back! Try to stare back! Or try to tell the cameras even to #%&!-off! - You will probably feel unsecure, uncomfortable, or even guilty. Looking back is not easy at all - it smells illegal. <you.tv> No one can say for sure how many hours the average American is on TV, but according to the Security Industry Association, the US spent about US$1billion last year on electronic security-camera systems. The industry promisses "If people know they are being watched on closed circuit tv, they do not steal." But this is not the case - things are'nt that simple. At least the case of the 8th floor of the uiah shows, many other examples, that it is rather easy for thieves to avoid beeing seen on the surveillance monitor / surveillance loop. The bad guys only need a basecab and / or a pair of shades - and there's no chance of finding / identifying them. <it does not work> Closed circuit television cameras, one of the government's key weapons in the war against crime, neither reduce crime nor the fear of it. That is one of the conclusions of a study, lately released in England by Prof. Jason Ditton, titeled "The effect of Closed Circuit Television on recorded crime rates and public concern about crime rates in Glasgow" (published by the Scottish Office, ISBN 07480 85416). In Glasgow, the downtown-area was rather redefined as a huge shopping mall by the installation of CCTV-cameras - than protected against crime. In the reports about the efforts of CCTV-systems, it is always talked about the number of reported illegal actions. When a new CCTV-system is beeing installed, the number of these illegal actions is of cause rather high. After some time, this number goes down and 'proves' yhe effectiveness of the new installed system. But what are 'reported illegal actions'? Illegal actions are basically all actions, THEY don't want on THEIR property. In most shopping-malls, smoking, begging, riding a skateboard and, of cause, putting up graffity are concidered as 'illegal actions'. CCTV seems to be perfect, to avoid illegal actions like these. After some weeks / months the number of these illegal actions goes down - noone dares to smoke in a non-smoking-area / ask people for money while beeing watched by a surveillance-camera. Surveillance is rather about pissing in public than about crime-prevention. Surveillance Cameras redefine public spaces as the camera's owner's spaces. Feeling / beeing watched makes people 'behave'; the bad guys wear sunglasses and hats anyways. |
||||
|
|
||||
