CCTV systems to prevent crime

lessons learned

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, the investment
on CCTV cameras has greatly increased
throughout the world. Through the rapid rolling
out of this technology, many mistakes were
made; lessons were often learned only slowly
about what CCTV could and could not achieve.
The experience achieved in the last years can
provide useful lessons, significantly improving
the process of policy transfer of urban security
evidence-based practices, avoiding mistakes,
developing better practice, clarifying issues,
and even saving money. According to
these experiences, promising CCTV project
proposals have to be supported by evidence of
theoretically sound crime reduction principles
which suggest plausible causal mechanisms
by which the CCTV system could work against
the current crime or disorder problem in the
current context. In this perspective, video
surveillance is not a prevention strategy that
might solve all of a city’s security issues. CCTV
is a useful tool only when it is used in broad and
integrated urban security scheme where all the
environment features are duly considered.