Security Cameras and Safety
The surveillance camera plays a significant role to prevent crimes by warning the criminal that their unlawful activity will be filmed on cameras. Therefore, the police can easily arrest them and bring them back to justice. It helps providing useful evidence for trials and makes the prosecution easier. The major advantage of using surveillance cameras is to protect property from theft and vandalism, and ensures public safety. Using surveillance cameras in public places is very important, the cameras are capable to snap picture from far away, and it will help to investigate unlawful activity such as robbery, kidnapping, car accident, murder and drug dealing. Currently in New York City the FBI found lots of evidence that terrorist might plant to attack especially in subway and crowded place. New York City spends millions of dollars on security cameras, to keep track on terrorist activities everywhere in the city. Only In lower Manhattan there are 3,000 cameras monitoring the entire area. People will feel safer from terrorist attacks such as bombing, gun shooting, and other violence crimes. The offenders might not see the camera, but the camera will record his action. The other criminal or terrorist will learn lesson that even though there is no police, the security can see whatever they doing through the camera. Therefore, they might able to take action before the crime happen. I strongly agreed that surveillance must be setup in the public and business places, it can’t eliminate crimes but it will able to reduce crimes.
In The New York Times newspaper, the author Kareem Fahim wrote an article called “Surveillance Will Expand To Midtown, Mayor Says,” back in 2009 the mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg reported that Homeland Security contributed $24 million to expand surveillance camera from Lower Manhattan to Midtown Manhattan. The new advanced technology cameras have capability to detect weapons through cameras. Therefore, the securities will be able to protect significant place located on that particular area such as Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building and the United Nations. The police department can observe the public through a huge 40 foot screen videos maps. Moreover, the passage “surveillance cameras and the Times Square bombing” by William Saletan shows that surveillance cameras can’t eliminate crimes, but It able to reduce crimes. In May 1, 2010, a Pakistani/American citizen named Faisal Shahzad who set off car bomb in Times Square. Two street vendors were discovered a car bomb and noticed to the police department that explosive gas coming out from a vehicle. The bomb failed to explode but if the bomb explodes it will cause a mass destruction. The surveillance cameras take an important role to investigate for find the suspect. He was caught on surveillance camera when he leaves the car and the grand central station security cameras taped that shows he leaving from New York. In two days the federal agents arrest him from a Dubai flight when he leaving to Dubai from John F Kennedy airport. The federal district court sentenced for life imprisonment. This event proves that surveillance cameras are capable to lower the crime rate in New York City. This event is a great message for the terrorist who planning for mass destruction in the city and they learned from that event that if they get caught than they have to spent entire life in prison. The Mayor Bloomberg surveillance cameras project will keep safe the residence and public of lower and upper Manhattan from terror attacks.
In the 219 magazine that published in Times Square, New York City, the author Simone Sebastian wrote an article called “what security cameras can’t see,” the article is about the capacity of surveillance cameras to capture videos and images of victims. In the article the author described that man named Thomas Boker who stalked a mature women while she reaching her apartment in Brooklyn Brownsville neighborhood, in the hallway he threatened her with a knife, then dragged her through the stair from 15th floor to 14th floor , after that he raped her . The entire scenario videotaped by that building surveillance camera. However, the police were criticized by the people because they are failed to detect the rapist when he was stalking her in the street for thirty minutes. The police claimed that the video images weren’t clear what’s going on in the street, the police arrested him after two weeks. According to the data of police department in Brownsville crimes drop out after installing surveillance cameras in the housing project. Since 2004 the Security Council enormous amount money in the NYCHA housing project. The installation of surveillance camera is increasing, currently the total cameras were installed by city council are 6300, each of the cameras coast $175,000. The author also wrote about other people opinion about how surveillance cameras taking role to cut down crimes. Some of the people aren’t really sure that it’s working well to detect crimes. The police department announced that they are successful to identify the suspect from videos that constantly recorded by the surveillance cameras. Even though, sometimes they failed to arrest the victims before commit a crimes. At least they are able to find evidence from other camera that set up inside buildings or other places. Its helps the police find out the victims, and bring him to justice. It’s not possible to prevent crimes completely, but the crimes will drop off, because the criminals will fear to commit a crime from of cameras.
In the book “CCTV to prevent crime” the author Susanne Grolle described about surveillance camera and how it affect the people life in city. The author explained that CCTV is cameras that connected with a huge TV screen, an organization were constantly observing the street of the city through surveillance cameras. They always keep in touch with police, if they see footage of someone doing illegal activity, than they will report it to police. The police can use image to identify the suspect, and the video footage or images can be use for evidence in the court. There are several different types of CCTV, it installed in the public places or in the houses. The author stated that CCTV cameras begin in London in 1980s. The purpose of CCTV was to identify the revolutionary who lead the mine worker to strike against the government. Later on England begin to expand the system of surveillance cameras through underground subway and public places. The surveillance cameras project was successful to detect criminal activities in England. Therefore, the surveillance cameras become more popular, the city begin to install mass of surveillance cameras in the parks, street, and shopping malls. The security were monitored those areas to protect the people from antisocial behavior. As a consequence people can safely walk through street and reach their destination. They know that surveillance cameras are everywhere, if an offender plan to shot or kidnap someone, they will tape in cameras. Later on the will be arrest by the police, and they might get severe punishment for their crime. They will scare to commit any types of crimes in public places. The ordinary people will not feel insecure anymore, even if they violated by someone, they still can hope for a fair judgment. They can find out the offender and bring him to justice.
The amNewYork daily newspaper published an article in May 30, 2011 called ” Nearly Half of NYPD’s crime reports feature criminals caught on tape,” the author Erik Ortiz wrote about the benefit of surveillance cameras and people’s reaction toward it. In New York City the police were able to arrest huge amount of suspect because of the image and videos that recorded through surveillance cameras. The police were kept eyes on across the city though thousand of surveillance cameras. The police department was satisfied with the evidence they find out from the surveillance camera, it make their job easy, they can easily identify the suspect, and they will be able to capture the criminals soon as possible. According to the author evidence in 2007 thirty four percent and 2009 fifty three percent criminals were arrested because of surveillance cameras. Especially, the most of the crimes caught in surveillance cameras in banks, houses complex, and subway stations. The federal agents was planned to spend $201 million to expand surveillance cameras through busiest street in Manhattan. However, peoples complaint that it affects their privacy. Today the surveillance cameras are everywhere including public places such as malls, street, and transport. They don’t like the system that constantly filmed them while they walk through street, or while they are shopping in the mall. I am not agreeing with those people who claim that it’s violating their freedom or right, because the police aren’t showing those videos on the television. There is always robbery, murder, kidnap, happen across the city. The cameras actually set up to keep the street people safe from offenders. The cameras also saving huge amount of money that need for hire extra police in the city. Therefore, the extra money can use in other project in the city. Its shows that the peoples and city both were are benefiting from using surveillance cameras.
