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How does CCTV reduce crime?

There is sufficient evidence to suggest that not all CCTV operations do in fact reduce crime. However, properly designed, implemented and maintained CCTV operations should have a constructive effect in reducing crime levels.

Various suggestions have been given why CCTV does have an effect with Pawson and Tilley, two UK researchers, providing a relatively in-depth set of reasons as early as 1994. Since then, discussion and analysis has enlarged the perspectives and some of the reasons from research and my own findings are indicated below.

1. CCTV does detect people committing offences and leads to the arrest of criminals. We find in many cases that it is not the first time the person who has been caught has committed an offence. By catching him and convicting him or her, we stop a whole series of future thefts that may have been committed by the individual.

2. CCTV recording provides evidence of the offence that is highly effective in prosecuting offenders. Properly viewed, recorded, and handled, it is very hard to dispute and increases the conviction rate significantly. Indeed, it can often produce an admission of guilt before the case comes to trial and speeds up the judicial process where this is called for.

3. The conviction of individuals responsible for committing crime leads to a recognition by other criminals that there is a chance of being caught and reduces the likelihood of crime in that location.

4. Criminals are not sure whether they are under surveillance and may therefore not commit an offence because they feel they are currently being observed.

5. The existence of cameras provides a deterrent value as criminals perceive that they have been recorded and it can be established that they have been in the area. They are then linked to the possible crime scene and time, and also are in a position where they cannot provide another alibi.

6. One can deploy police or security personnel effectively by viewing a large area with CCTV and then directing response personnel in to affected areas. Use of cameras provides far more options for anticipating movement and cutting off escape paths than an officer running behind a fleeing suspect.

7. The feeling of safety provided by cameras leads to people providing natural support for each other by being in an area in numbers. This creates a sense of security.

8. We can profile people by viewing their natural behaviour and their interactions with others from a distance without interfering or making them feel they are being harassed. We can therefore often get a truer idea of their nature and intentions which can be used to evaluate the extent to which they are going to pose a risk to others.

9. By auditing the police or security actions and response, we can be assured of a higher quality of conduct by these personnel as their behaviour would be observed with a camera and they are therefore more accountable in how they deal with situations.

CCTV, despite its effectiveness, does not eliminate crime. Some criminals continue to commit offences despite the cameras being there. Others attempt to work out ways in which they can beat the system of cameras. Often the CCTV systems themselves have major shortfalls. There is also an argument that crime is just displaced into another area, although there have been mixed findings in this respect, and in many cases CCTV genuinely does reduce the overall levels of crime in an area. Ultimately it is clear that CCTV used together with other security precautions and systems is one of the most effective ways of dealing with crime today and is going to continue to be even more important in the future.

Dr Craig Donald

Dr Craig Donald is a human factors specialist in security and CCTV. He is a director of Leaderware, which provides instruments for the selection of CCTV operators, X-ray screeners and other security personnel in major operations around the world. He also runs CCTV Surveillance Skills and Body Language, and Advanced Surveillance Body Language courses for CCTV operators, supervisors and managers internationally, and consults on CCTV management. He can be contacted on +27 (0) 11 787 7811 or [email protected]

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