Gonzalez

Camera Surveillance of the Public Now and in the Near Future Summaries One Sentence Summary In a chapter of Christopher Slobogins Privacy at Risk, he declares that closedcircuit televisions, CCTVs, can only decrease and prevent crimes when the most refined cameras are located in the right spot and are monitored by skilled operatives; otherwise, according to his analysis of multiple studies, CCTVs are not cost effective and are a threat to the Fourth Amendment.

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Paragraph Summary In Christopher Slobogins chapter, Camera Surveillance of the Public Now and in the Near Future, he claims that after September 11, closed-circuit televisions, CCTVs, became apparent in major cities and small towns. Slobogin stresses that CCTVs gained popularity for security measures and convenience in terms of efficiency and cost. However, Slobogin points out that CCTVs are not very convenient as they made little to no impact on crime rates. For example, the average reduction in crime was an insignificant four percent. Slobogin responds to this statistic by claiming that other factors were the cause of the alleviated crime, like more police officers on duty and so on. Although Slobogin acknowledges the fact that CCTVs assisted in finding those who were responsible for the London bombing in July 2005, he still enquiries whether, overall, they are cost effective. Aside from the slight reduction in crimes, Slobogin points out that CCTVs are invading citizens right to privacy. Again, he questions whether privacy is at stake when ones every move is being monitored. Slobogin concludes that CCTVs are posing a threat to the Fourth Amendment and can only be cost effective if certain measures, as using the most refined cameras, are taken.

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One Page Summary According to a chapter in Christopher Slobogins Privacy at Risk, the use of CCTVs became remarkably common in major cities and small towns after the tragedy of September 11 (82). For this reason, it is no surprise that CCTVs have led to such enhancements that they are able to distinguish people that have outstanding criminal records using facial recognition systems (84). However, this does not impress Slobogin; instead, he argues that CCTVs have not made a significant impact on society and are threatening citizens right to the Fourth Amendment (81). Slobogin points out that several flaws can accompany the use of CCTVs. For example, Slobogin proposes that cameras and videotapes can easily be destroyed, recordings can be of poor quality, and images caught on tape are always subject to interpretation (86). He also suggests that most of the time, criminals do not care about surveillance cameras being present which lessens chances of reducing or preventing crimes (87). Furthermore, Glasgow citizens have claimed feeling less safe because the overwhelming use of cameras caused a sense of danger (85). Slobogin also demonstrates that CCTVs are ineffective as they only helped reduce crime by four percent (85). He also clarifies that five cities in the United States ceased the use of CCTVs because of their inefficiency (85). Similarly, in Sydney only one arrest was made within one hundred and sixty days (85).

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Slobogin even suggests that the minor alleviation in crime was due to other factors, such as police officers on duty or the fact that criminals can simply relocate (87). Most importantly, Slobogin proposes that CCTVs are an invasion of privacy (81). The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is violated through CCTVs because our private thoughts are translated to actions and are captured by cameras (81). Overall, Slobogin mentions that CCTVs pose a threat to our privacy and are only cost effective when they are used correctly (88).