Since the July 7th London bombings, CCTV security products (closed circuit TV) across the world have been examined with higher scrutiny and with higher expectations for lowering crime. Although not a panacea for preventing crime, various CCTV surveillance products have been successful at lowering some kinds of crimes like residence crime, for acting like a deterrent in car parks or in other community places, and for producing citizens feel safer. However, the final results are mixed when addressing violent crimes and once the crimes involve alcohol.

In the UK, where an typical man or woman may well be watched 300 times a day by the prevalent closed circuit television systems, several case experiments paired with crime statistics have been used by Britain's residence Office to decide the usefulness of those CCTV products and to determine how well CCTV saves time and bucks for their law enforcement force. In fact, from 1999 to 2001, the British government spent ￡170 million (approximately $250 million) for closed circuit television security schemes in town and in city centers, car parks, crime warm locations and in residential areas.

Keys to evaluating CCTV systems

According to Coretta Philips with the residence Office Policing and lowering Crime Unit, CCTV products are evaluated utilizing these identifiers which help law enforcement pinpoint where and once the CCTV security digital camera products are most beneficial.

o Caught inside the act -- When prospective offenders fear being recorded by the CCTV cameras for courtroom purposes, they usually abandon any notion of conducting a crime.

o Publicity -- when the CCTV digital camera schemes are community knowledge, then the would-be offenders may well leave the target area, but may well mind to one more area. residence Office data discovered that inside the days leading up for the CCTV program activation, crime went comfortably due for the multiplied publicity. However, when the publicity with the CCTV program is private, then offenders may well be more almost certainly to be deterred because they may well believe that CCTV security cameras may well check other places as well.

o Effective deployment of law enforcement officials -- CCTV products improve the response time of law enforcement officials for the incident scene prior to a member of community has to call the police. According to data compiled in 2004 by the residence Office, CCTV operators can decide how various officials to send for the scene and the CCTV surveillance cameras can indicate what the offenders are doing in the scene prior to the law enforcement arrive.

o Time for crime -- when the offenders believe that they are able to total their crime prior to the CCTV products can report it, then the law enforcement may have much less chance at capturing the offenders. For example, if car thieves know that the security camera's angle, range and pace are limited, they may decide find out how to preferred avoid the CCTV security cameras. However, the residence Office CCTV data has shown a decrease in car thefts in car parks, revealing that some offenders may well nevertheless be captured on digital camera in spite of the pace with the crime.

Where CCTV products scored well and where they missed

Although CCTV products seem to cut back and deter residence crime in community areas, such as car parks or buying malls, CCTV products aren't as effective at stopping or preventing violent crimes. Although the CCTV products do help at deploying law enforcement officials quickly to these violent crimes sites, the offenders may well avoid the security cameras, since the security cameras are mounted in community zones, where violent crimes don't consider place. In this case, better street lighting may well help to avoid such violent crimes from occurring. In addition, when alcohol is involved, the offenders don't take into account the implications of the actions, producing the CCTV products ineffective like a deterrent amongst the intoxicated offenders.

On a positive note, the CCTV products do reduce the public's fear of crime and they do ensure the fast deployment of officials for the incident scene which gives much less time for the offenders to act more violently. To really confirm when the CCTV program is effective, the law enforcement entire body requires to conduct movie surveillance evaluations more than a lengthy period of time of time to weed out any inconsistencies inside the crime data. Also, when the CCTV operators are well-trained and know the speediest way to deploy the law enforcement officers, then the CCTV program could be more effective. CCTV products are the long term for preventing crime, and since the CCTV security cameras become more sophisticated, more offenders could be caught and much more crimes could be prevented.