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Abstract
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Electronic surveillance is thought to offer the possibility of reducing crime in an area in several ways. By raising the likelihood that a law violator will be apprehended and punished, it may discourage prospective criminals. Electronic surveillance may also facilitate an arrest and conviction following the commission of a crime, thereby removing an offender from the area.
The visible presence of surveillance equipment could also remind those in the area that crime is a possibility, thereby inducing them to take precautions against being victimized by violence or theft. On the other hand, some residents and passersby may believe that the presence of surveillance equipment deters crime effectively, and consequently let their guards down. If that happens, surveillance equipment could increase crime, or at least fail to reduce it. It should be kept in mind, of course, that many crimes do not take place in public. A substantial fraction of homicides and assaults occur indoors, between intimates or associates. One would not expect surveillance cameras in public spaces to do much to stop these crimes.
Despite uncertainties regarding its effectiveness, surveillance equipment is being introduced in the American cities at a rapid pace.
Poisson and negative binomial regression methods are used to analyze the monthly time series data to determine the effects of introducing an integrated security management system including closed-circuit television (CCTV), door alarm monitoring, proximity card access, and emergency call boxes to a large privately-owned complex of apartment buildings in New York City. Crime rates in a control apartment complex under the same ownership, and in the police precinct in which the 2 complexes are located, serve as controls.
Though not definitive, our results suggest that CCTV may be moderately effective in preventing minor crimes or in diverting them to distant areas. Its effects on more serious crime could not be gauged precisely from this research because there was so little of it prior to the introduction of electronic monitoring. |