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Effects of Cctv as a Surveillance Strategy

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Effects of Cctv as a Surveillance Strategy
What are the effects of the use of CCTV as a surveillance strategy in the UK?
Surveillance is proving to be a very effective technique to ensure the feeling of safety and security among the people of a state. Traditionally surveillance was done manually using human patrolling by police and law maintaining bodies in the city. Then with the introduction of CCTVs we started using video surveillance. This essay will begin by briefly outlining what is meant by surveillance further explaining varying ways in which CCTV is used in the UK and global as a surveillance strategy.
Surveillance loosely meaning to monitor people from a distance without actually coming into contact with the subject, one such method is CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) has become a familiar tool in aiding to improve security nowadays with cameras installed virtually everywhere. The word surveillance owes its origin to the French word for "watching over" (Wikipedia, 2012) in sociology terms surveillance can be defined as, ‘Monitoring the activities of others in order to ensure compliant behaviour.(Social Science Dictionary) such examples include electronic equipment (such as CCTV cameras), consumer transactions, personal information supplied to varying government employees i.e. Doctors. All this information is very useful to governments and law enforcement agencies in helping to maintain social control.
The social theory of surveillance can be traced back to the utilitarian work of Jeremy Bentham (1791) and his vision of rational social control. He invented the concept ‘Panoptican’ a prison design that allowed for uninterrupted inspection, observation and surveillance of prisoners (Drake, Munice & Westmarland, 2010, pg 11). The process of control was gained by the impression that the unseen eye was watching, and with the prisoners unaware of when the threat of potential surveillance resulted in them ‘assure the automatic functioning of self-control and self-discipline on the part of the



References: Anon. (2009). Judges quash robbery conviction. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7992062.stm. Last accessed 25 April 2012. Anon Anon. (2002). CCTV: Does it work?. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2071496.stm. Last accessed 24 April Anon Anon. (2012). How many CCTV cameras are there in Britain?. Available: http://www.cctv.co.uk/how-many-cctv-cameras-are-there-in-the-uk/. Last accessed 22 April 2012 Anon Armitage, R. (2002). To CCTV or not to CCTV?. NACRO Community Safety practice briefing. Ball, K, Lyon, D, Murakami Wood, D, Norris, C, Raab, C Bowden, C. (2001). The Surveillance Trap Your Whole Life Laid Bare. Available: http://cryptome.org/no-hiding.htm. Last accessed 24 April Derzko, W Drake D, Munice J, Westmarland, L. (2010). Interrogating Criminal Justice. In: Drake D, Munice J, Westmarland, L Criminal Justice Local and Global. USA & Canada: Willan Publishing. 11-12 Edwards, R Harcourt-Webster, A. (2006). Is Business the real Big Brother?. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5015826.stm. Last accessed 24 April 2012. Isnard, A Koskela, H. (2002). Cam Era - the contemporary urban panopticon. Available: http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles1(3)/camera.pdf. Last accessed 23 April 2012. Lyon D Nysether, I. (2011). Negative Aspects of CCTV - Privacy & Anonymity. Available: http://cctvsxtutorial.wordpress.com/. Last accessed 24 April Parliment UK Schneier, B. (2008). CCTV doesn 't keep us safe, yet the cameras are everywhere. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/26/politics.ukcrime. Last accessed 24 April 2012. Shepherd, J Smith, R. (2005). Prof probes impact of post-9/11 surveillance. Available: http://www.folio.ualberta.ca/43/02/10.html. Last accessed Social Science Dictionary Webster, W. (2009). CCTV Policy in the UK : reconsidering the evidence base. Available: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/1798/1/Surveillance&Society%2009.pdf. Last accessed 25 April 2012 Woodhouse, J

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