Is public CCTV effective?

[Editor's note: John Honovich publishes this and other information on network video at IPVideoMarket.info.]

While we continue to spend more on public CCTV systems, the debate on CCTV effectiveness has reached a polarizing and inconclusive standoff. On the one side, you have a number of studies and leading thinkers who cleary contend that CCTV systems are ineffective. On the other, you have numerous municipalities who are weekly green-lighting new CCTV projects.

This report offers key findings from the 20 top studies/articles in the field and offers practical recommendations on how to optimize the use of public CCTV systems.

A directory of the 20 top papers in the field are included at the end of this document. This report is based on those papers.

Key Findings Summary

• The expectation that CCTV systems should be deployed to reduce crime rather than solve crime has created huge problems.


• While the studies show serious doubt on CCTV's ability to reduce crime generally, a strong consensus exists in CCTV's ability to reduce premeditative/property crime


• CCTV is consistently treated as a singular, stable technology, obscuring radical technological changes that have occurred in the last 10 years


• Differences in per camera costs are largely ignored, preventing policy makers from finding ways to reduce costs


• Routine comparison of police vs cameras is counterproductive

Practical Recommendations Summary

• Stop claiming that CCTV can generally reduce crime


• Optimize future public CCTV projects around crime solving rather than crime reduction


• Optimize future public CCTV projects around material and premeditative crimes


• Target technologies that support crime solving and material/premeditative crimes


• Focus on minimizing cost per camera

Finding: Crime Reduction vs Crime Solving

Finding: Reducing Crime Generally vs Premeditative/Property Crime



ACLU's








Finding: CCTV as Singular, Stable Technology

UK Home Office Report of 2005





2005 UK Home Office Report




Finding: Differences in Per Camera Costs Largely Ignored

2005 UK Home Office study








Finding: Cops vs Cameras Comparison Counterproductive














Recommendation: Abandon emphasis on general crime reduction





Recommendation: Focus Projects on Crime Solving






Recommendation: Focus Projects on Material/Premeditative Crimes






Recommendation: Target Technologies that Support Crime Solving








Recommendation: Minimize Cost Per Camera






Conclusion

• Set the goals appropriately on tasks that can succeed: Crime Solving and Property Crime Reduction


• Select technologies such as IP and megapixel cameras that improve performance


• Ensure spending per camera is controlled and benefits from new technologies

With these practices, we can ensure both effective CCTV systems and a positive economic contribution to society.


Directory of CCTV Effectiveness Studies

The debate on the effectiveness of CCTV is amazingly complex. Dozens of studies done over more than a decade with frequently conflicting positions makes the situation hard to assess. This problem is magnified by the difficulty of finding reference material.

This directory provides a catalog of as many publicly available studies and reports I can find on the web.