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Video Surveillance

Public and Private Applications of Video Surveillance and Biometric Technologies

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TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND EXPANDINGUSE

In 1997, the California Research Bureau (CRB) examined the potential of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) technology to improve public safety through remote surveillance.

Businesses such as banks were early adopters of CCTV for crime detection and prevention purposes. Our review found that an increasing number of cities, schools and residential districts were deploying CCTV systems. Shortly thereafter, many schools installed CCTV systems in response to violent outbreaks such as at Columbine High School. Now new CCTV technological features, and an urgent need for enhanced public security following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, are leading to a rapidly expanding use of CCTV and a related technology, biometrics. There appears to be considerable public support for this expansion. A Business Weeksurvey conducted a week after the September 11 terrorist attack found that 63 percent of the adults surveyed were in favor of expanded camera surveillance on streets and in public places, and 86 percent were in favor of using facial recognition...

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How To Find Hidden Cameras

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1 Introduction

During the last few years the number of surveillance cameras has grown out of bounds. Cameras have been installed in many public and semi-public places such as universities [1], streets, supermarkets, gas stations, parking garages, cinemas, bars, shops, busses, train stations and even discos. About 25 million CCTV cameras are estimated to be in operation worldwide at the time of writing [2]. Some countries, notably Great Britain, are trying to fully cover every corner of public life with cameras. The Privacy International CCTV page [3] states that between 225 and 450 Million Dollars are spent on surveillance technology in Britain per year, involving an estimated 300.000 cameras. These efforts result in a person driving through the city of London being filmed at least once every five minutes [4]. In the near future cameras may even be installed in all taxis, keeping an eye on the passengers [5]. In Houston, Texas, about 400 cabs have been equipped with such cameras [6]

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Editorial. Surveillance Studies: Understanding Visibility, Mobility And The Phenetic Fix.

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Abstract

Surveillance studies is described as a cross-disciplinary initiative to understand the rapidly increasing ways in which personal details are collected, stored, transmitted, checked, and used as means of influencing and managing people and populations. Surveillance may involve physical watching, but today it is more likely to be automated. Thus it makes personal data visible to organizations, even if persons are in transit, and it also allows for comparing and classifying data. Because this has implications for inequality and for justice, surveillance studies also has a policy and a political dimension.

Introduction

At the start of the twenty-first century it is clear that ‘surveillance studies’ is a rapidly developing field of analysis and theory. Diverse practices and processes for dealing with personal data are multiplying, and the speed with which records can be accessed is accelerating. The old top-heavy bureaucracies of the earlier twentieth century are being replaced with computerized and networked systems. While it should be noted that some surveillance relies on physical...

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Public and Private Applications of Video Surveillance

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Executive Summary

At the request of the Senate Committee on Privacy, chaired by Senator Steve Peace, in this report the California Research Bureau (CRB) presents a survey of Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) and biometric security systems used in the United States and in other countries. We find that an increasing number of cities, schools, transit districts and public housing are deploying CCTV surveillance systems to monitor and protect the public. Our first survey, in 1997, found that only 13 city police departments in the country used CCTV video surveillance systems, primarily to monitor pedestrian traffic in downtown and residential districts. Technological advances, declining costs, and heightened security concerns following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have led to rapid diffusion of both CCTV surveillance and biometric technologies. For example, CCTV video surveillance is widely used in public schools to monitor student movement and detect illegal activity, and at street intersections to catch cars running red lights. Private sector applications greatly

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