Discussion on Whether Surveillance Cameras Should Be Placed in Public Places

We live in a constant threat of attack from solo gun men to suicidal bombers. In order to live safer, we install home security cameras in and out of our houses. Then there comes another issue: what about in public? Should surveillance cameras be placed in public places? Public surveillance cameras help you stay safe while clubbing, shopping, and travelling. Cameras can be used as a way to keep an eye out for any crimes that are being committed. Cameras put in public spaces, like a crossroad, a retail store, parking lots, museums, concert halls, do an excellent job in providing 360° seamless surveillance solutions. Additionally, crimes can be deterred before they even begin in some cases. If a suspicious individual or individuals or items are seen in an area, the appropriate authorities can be contacted to move into the area before any damage is done or any crime is committed. Additionally, any people in the area can be cleared as a precaution. Since public safety is guaranteed, people’s fear of crime can also be reduced, while their sense of security is created. As far as I am concerned, advantages of installing public surveillance cameras outweigh the disadvantages greatly.

According to FBI, there were an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes 8,277,829 property crimes reported in 2014, and the crime rate has been rising in recent years. I can’t imagine how bad the situation would be if there were no public security cameras. There is no much about the concern of privacy violation when you behave yourself in public places. Security in public places should always be put on the top of priority. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. The 21st century has also been the age of counter-terrorism, and this fact has given immense importance to the debate on the importance of privacy. With full privacy, people would be able to get away with crime and other bad things. With full security, even though you know you’re being watched, everyone does the right thing, creating a good society. Security makes sure that everyone is safe, while privacy lets people create unsafe situations. Some of the terror attacks we witnessed showed us the real importance of camera surveillance. In June of 2013, the NSA released a sample; just some of the terror threats that have been presented. We saw in 2006 seven men really had a detailed plan to blow up the sears tower in 2007-- a planned attack on fort dix in New Jersey, and in 2009 the underwear bombers arrested on Christmas day.

The point therefor is that all of these threats are ones which have been planned using a new technology which is even more difficult to detect than it was before. It’s no longer good enough to have someone that is able to go snooping through rubbish bins, we need a comprehensive system that is able to detect these threats when we’re facing things which we couldn’t gave possibly planned for.