EFFECTS OF VIDEO SURVEILLANCE EXAMINED

Big Brother: Do Police Cameras Prevent Crime?

An academic at the University of Victoria has received a timely grant
to get candid about the effects of video-surveillance cameras in
public places.

Sociologist Dr. Sean Hier was given a $100,000 grant from the Social
Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada in April to study
closed-circuit surveillance cameras (CCTV) on city streets.

The timing couldn't have been better, Hier says, noting that in the
wake of bombings in London, there's little academic data in North
America about the effects of having Big Brother watch over us.

Some studies indicate that many crimes would be committed with or
without surveillance cameras.

"There's more evidence coming out of Britain and the United States
that if you have a number of cameras, it will deter things like car
theft," says Hier, who notes that where cameras are installed,
"results are inconsistent at best."

Recently, Vancouver police abandoned the idea of installing up to 23
video surveillance cameras in the Downtown Eastside after learning
research in Britain showed they do little to theft and violent crimes.

There are as many as one million 24-hour closed-circuit television
surveillance cameras in Britain.

"There's a lot of questions we need to ask about CCTV in Canada," Hier
says. "There's no evidence it is a deterrent. If it is a deterrent, we
wouldn't have bombings in London."

The issue has piqued the interest of the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association. Micheal Vonn, the association's policy director, says the
group is awaiting Hier's findings.

"Britain is the most heavily videoed country in Western civilization,
but they did not stop the bombings and are not stopping crime," Vonn
notes. "It is not that video cameras don't have some uses. It's a
question of getting the balance right."