CCTV cameras: Crime Catching TV or Confidentiality Compromising TV

“You have to be very ready with your hand camera…because this action can become very fast...in a matter of 3 to 4 minutes, it could be all over...i won’t be able to talk to you again...so this is the danger…the big danger...”

§ Senator Benigno Aquino , Jr. (in his prophetic interview at his Grand Hotel suite in Taipei on August 20, 1983)

Perhaps if only Manila International Airport were equipped with CCTV systems in their premises, the mystery of Ninoy’s death could have been solved. The names of Rolando Galman and the various AFP soldiers could have either been cleared or condemned with finality. Conspiracy theories may have been laid to rest. The BIG DANGER of recording history with uncertainty could have been forestalled.

CCTV is fast becoming a common facet of our daily lives- recording our movements inside the premises of private business establishments, in communal areas, and even in public places. As fear of terrorism and crime escalates, the installation of CCTV systems has surged in recent years. Its usage is no longer confined in high-risk security areas such as banks. Indeed, our legislators[1] and law enforcement agencies[2] deem that the development of CCTV is a major breakthrough in crime prevention. They are of such view that CCTV deters “opportunistic” crimes, where people take advantage of a situation on the spur of the moment. For our police force, CCTV cameras are not only guardians of public places in lieu (better yet, shortage) of uniformed personnel performing patrol duties, but also the messiah in reducing crime rates. [3] The recorded footages are used as important evidence in court trials and in the identification of suspects.

HOWEVER, there is no consensus on the effectiveness of public CCTV as a deterrent or an effective mechanism for responding to crime. In fact, there are strong suggestions that the technological fix is overrated and oversold. In practice the value of CCTV is often forensic - as a tool for identifying what happened - rather preventive, something that is unsurprising as some images are not closely monitored, image quality is poor or devices are not working, and help is not readily at hand if the observer does identify an incident.[4]

Some are of view that CCTV merely displaces criminal activity to areas outside the range of the cameras. Likewise, as CCTV is becoming the primary means of crime prevention, more traditional, community based measures have been discarded. CCTV affords a false sense of security, encouraging laziness when we need police to be vigilant. Thus, it only results in underused and misallocated police resources.[5]

In any case, it is undeniable that technological limitations of cameras, organizational limitations of the police and the adaptive abilities of criminals determine the prospects of crime prevention and resolution.

MOREOVER, the proliferation of CCTV cameras in public places has led to some unease about the erosion of civil liberties and individual human rights such as privacy[6], along with warnings of an Orwellian ‘big brother’ culture.[7]

IN SUM, CCTV is very quickly becoming an integral part of crime control policy, social control theory and “Community consciousness” of any nation.[8] As our country become (arguably) an intensely voyeuristic society, are we ready to become “housemates” of the government?

Footnotes:

[1] Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s Bill entitled “AN ACT TO REQUIRE HOSPITALS TO INSTALL CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV) CAMERAS IN SELECTED PORTIONS OF THE HOSPITAL AND PENALIZING THE PUBLICATION OF THE VIDEO TAKEN BY THIS CAMERAS WITHOUT A COURT ORDER” (S.B. 2248)
[2] MMDA to put CCTV cameras at loading, unloading bays on EDSA <http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=488197&publicationSubCategoryId=200>
[3] Manila’s new CCTV cameras boost anticrime drive
[4]Caslon Analytics Privacy Guide: CCTV and other cams
[5] Schneier on Security: CCTV cameras <>
[6] City Council defers proposal on CCTV use <http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/city-council-defers-proposal-cctv-use>
[7] http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/issue-briefs/domestic-policy/crime/cctv/cctv-$366679.htm
[8] CCTV Frequently Asked Questions <http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5b347%5d=x-347-61925#3>