CCTV - What is closed circuit television?
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CCTV or Closed Circuit Television refers to a visible or covert video system intended for only a limited number of viewers. In Closed Circuit TV (CCTV), the picture is viewed or recorded, but not broadcasted. It was initially developed as a means of security for banks and casinos; however, today it has been developed to the point where it is simple and inexpensive enough to be used with Home Security Systems, and for everyday surveillance.
More specifically, CCTV is a television transmission system in which live or pre-recorded signals are sent over a closed loop to a finite and predetermined group of receivers. The term Closed Circuit TV is generally used to describe systems with specialized applications such as Security Cameras.
What is CCTV's primary funciton?
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CCTV is most commonly used for surveillance. Security Cameras are now universally featured in many public and private institutions, from a correctional facility to your business or home. In prisons, reduce the costs of staffing and operating observation towers and make it possible to maintain a constant watch on all areas of the facility. CCTV has become so much less expensive over the years that both large and small homes and businesses are able to install cameras as a deterrent against theft and robbery, a practice, which municipal authorities have adopted as a way of curtailing crime in public housing and even on city streets. In many areas of the country as well as in Europe, Security Cameras have been placed in highly crowded public areas as a security measure against terrorism.
How CCTV benefits you!
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Deterrence. The potential offender becomes aware of the presence of CCTV, assesses the risks of offending in this location to outweigh the benefits and chooses either not to offend or to offend elsewhere.
Efficient deployment. CCTV cameras allow those monitoring the scene to determine whether police assistance is required. This ensures that police resources are called upon only when necessary.
Self discipline.
By potential victims. They are reminded of the ‘risk’ of crime, therefore altering their behaviour accordingly.
By potential offenders. Through a process similar to that described by Foucault in his discussion of Bentham’s Panopticon, the threat of potential surveillance (whether the cameras are actually being monitored may be irrelevant) acts to produce a self discipline in which individuals police their own behaviour.
Presence of a capable guardian. The ‘Routine Activity Theory suggests that for a crime to be committed there must be a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a capable guardian. Any act that prevents the convergence of these elements will reduce the likelihood of a crime taking place. CCTV, as a capable guardian, may help to reduce crime. The CCTV camera may produce a self-discipline through fear of surveillance, whether real or imagined.
Detection. CCTV cameras capture images of offences taking place. In some cases this may lead to punishment and the removal of the offenders’ ability to offend (either due to incarceration, or increased monitoring and supervision). The latter mechanism is by far the most publicised, with high-profile cases such as the abduction and murder of James Bulger and the arrest of David Copeland, in which images of the offenders on CCTV aided their detection and subsequent arrest.
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Rates: All Rates are linked to prime and exclude insurance.
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