Security cameras are becoming more helpful to society, but at the same time also becoming more and more harmful. Security cameras can enhance, and undermine society. Security cameras should be used to help protect people, their rights, and their property. In an ever changing society people want to do the same thing to video tapes that would convict them of a wrong doing. Someone could alter a home video to show only certain parts of the video that they want people to see. Usually they are very careless and do a bad job of cutting out clips, and piecing the rest of the video together.
Video cameras in police cars can enhance society by putting criminals in jail, which makes society safer. They also protect the innocent citizens against an overly aggressive cop. Likewise they protect a law abiding police officer, and convicting a citizen of battery or resisting arrest. Video cameras are solid evidence in most cases, even though there are a few instances where the video could have been altered.
Security cameras can also undermine society. ‘Dirty’ cops or people in general, can be exposed to society through a well viewed security camera. We have all seen the videos on the news about the police officers who use too much force when arresting an individual, and then try to say that individual was resisting arrest. Or the tapes from a hospital waiting room, where an elder or handicapped person has fallen out of their wheelchair, and visitors and hospital staff walk by without acknowledging or helping the fallen victim.
There are also the shocking, but ever so common places where people find ‘security’ cameras, for instance in dressing rooms or bathrooms. The creeps who place these cameras use them for viewing pleasure, and sometimes to blackmail a harmless victim. These careless people eventually get caught and charged with a numerous number of crimes and sent to jail.
Security cameras are in many ways helpful in catching a wrongful person of an action. They keep people safe, and leave evidence to use in the conviction of a wrong doer. Security cameras provide solid evidence that supports the happenings of an event. One may be unconscious, but the camera can still catch the footage of what is really going on.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree with you that there are positive and negative aspects to public surveillance. Security cameras do help catch criminals, but some uses are invasions of privacy such as in dressing rooms. Aren't there laws against that though.
I also agree that there are pro's and con's to the viewpoints of public surveillance. In my opinion, a world with cameras on every street block borders on invasion of privacy, with many other civil liberties being in questioned. Did you go see the movie, "Eagle Eye"?
Post a Comment