Each day in the city, you can see people go to schools, do their business, drive around traffic, and do what they need to do. Generally, these people are law abiding and want nothing more than to go on with life.
However, there are those who want to get their desires and accomplish their goals through unlawful means. These people are the robbers, kidnappers, and other law-breaking citizens who prowl around the streets. They are the ones who make the alleys, sidewalks, parks, and other public places unsafe.
That is why elements of law enforcement work double time to monitor and apprehend these criminals. They have a lot of ways to do this-having increased regular patrols, using high-tech gadgets, training for even better tactics, participating in dangerous stakeouts, and even resorting to trickery.
One of these ways is through passive observation. By passive observation, policemen monitor public areas without them being in the vicinity! They rely on monitoring equipment to observe and record any activity in that particular area.
How do they do this? Passive monitoring is usually done by surveillance cameras. These cameras can actually zoom in on minute details-a person’s face, identification cards, even hidden weapons if the conditions are right. More advanced models are even equipped with sensitive microphones that record conversations. Connected to a large database, images of people can be matched to get a positive ID on potential suspects.
However, there are many critics who abhor the use of surveillance cameras. And one of the more serious concerns is the invasion of a person’s privacy.
You see, the police department usually assigns personnel to watch live footage for standard monitoring. Now critics are worried that officers may zoom in on some unsuspecting person and act like peeping toms rather than police officers.
For example, some officers might focus their cameras on a woman’s bosom and private parts for enjoyment. They might focus the camera on a window of a nearby apartment building and spy on people’s private activities. For more high-tech CCTVs, the microphone might be used to eavesdrop on conversations they are not privy with.
To prevent this intention, police have placed special features in their surveillance cameras these instances. For example, in some cameras, the images black out when focused above the second story of a building. Or the standard microphone feature is disabled, effectively eliminating the chance for private conversations to be heard, unless there is an approval from a high-ranking officer who posses an access code.
Skeptics still believe that these cameras pose a risk to their private lives, violating the Fourth Amendment as written in the U.S. Constitution. But while there were indeed few instances of misuse, it can’t be denied that these cameras are extremely useful. Police officers assigned to monitor them are generally responsible and respectful. With these cameras, monitoring personnel can dispatch officers on the crime scene more quickly. And of course, the recordings can review the footage for evidence.
Clearly, the benefits outweigh the cons.
By: Steve Strong
About the Author:
Steve Strong’s is an employee with Sun Security a leading supplier of Home Security Camera Systems
