Advantage and Disadvantage of CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is a camera which is used to produce images or recordings for surveillance purposes. CCTV can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Video cameras are either analogue or digital, which means that they work on the basis of sending analogue or digital signals to a storage device such as a video tape recorder or desktop computer or laptop computer wherelse digital stills cameras can take excellent pictures in most situations and can be plugged into the USB port of any computer and pictures can be taken of any camera scene.
The name of the CCTV camera’s inventor is Marie Van Brittan Brown. CCTV is usually installed in areas that may need monitoring such as banks, casinos, airports, military installations, and convenience stores. In this days and age, it is critical to take security seriously. Some people think that only businesses and commercial properties need good security, but it is not only that our homes need good security too. With the rapid increase of crime rates and breaking and entering, it is very important to mull over the available security options and choose one that is the best fit for us.
Therefore using CCTV cameras and equipment is one of the most popular and cost effective ways of providing security in the home and place of work. The reason why CCTV cameras is used because it can act as a very successful deterrent to thieves and burglars, certainly making them think twice at the very least. The technology these days have made our work much easier. For example, it is even possible to hook the cameras up to an ordinary television or computer to watch the footage. In this report we are going to discuss on the pros and corns of a CCTV camera system.
The use of CCTV (close circuit television) cameras in streets, stations, shops and other public places has increased rapidly in recent years. I completely agree with the statement above. We can’t overlook at the importance of CCTV in our daily lives. Indirectly CCTV makes our lives much easier because it protects the public, buildings and vehicles. One of the importance of CCTV are to prevent crime.
All of us are worried about crime. CCTV cameras can not only catch criminals in the act, but the existence of CCTV systems can make a would-be criminal think twice before committing any wrong-doing. There are many different types of crimes, including from crimes against persons to victimless crimes and also violent crimes to white collar crimes. Crimes against persons are also called personal crimes. For example, murder, forced attack, rape, and robbery. Next is a victimless crime. It is an offense that lacks an exclusive victim who is the object of the crime. This offense is usually against society itself through norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs.
For example when someone smokes or uses cocaine they are going against cultural values about apposite behavior. They are eventually committing a crime, but there is no direct victim, as there is when someone is robbed or murdered. Other example includes prostitution, illegal gambling, and illegal drug. White-collar crimes are crimes committed by people of high social status. For example, stealing money from one’s employer, insider trading and tax evasion. All this kind of crimes can be prevented by using a CCTV camera.
There were some researchers conducted on the use of CCTV cameras and they found that surveillance systems were most effective in parking lots. The use of CCTV cameras resulted in a 51% decrease in crime As we all know CCTV cameras helps in preventing crime. Besides preventing crime CCTV cameras have other functions too which are beneficial to us. CCTV cameras can be used as a useful piece of evidence in lawsuits. In legal cases of robbery and other forms of crime, videos and images provided by the CCTV camera system can serve as a valid proof and evidence against the defaulter.
To be more specific if a crime is committed around us and the person accused of committing the crime was caught on camera, we will have an extra and strong piece of evidence for a court case. To confirm that the person accused did indeed commit the crime, jurors and judges can watch footage or view photos that was recorded and captured from the security cameras. By doing so not only will we be preventing the same person from causing us more trouble in the future, but we’ll be helping out our entire community. Eventually, this useful piece of evidence by the CCTV camera can help law enforcement to solve crime.
Whenever someone is caught on CCTV camera committing a crime, police and other law enforcement officials resembling customs officers, probation officers, immigration officers, and corrections officers can use the footage to release video or photos to the public via various media outlets like newspapers, magazines and internet. Many of us don’t realize that having a picture of the suspect can make a world of difference when it comes to making an arrest and getting dangerous criminal off the street. Besides those that was stated above, with the use of CCTV camera we are able to keep an eye on children, elderly folks and things.
Many of us are too busy out there that we are not aware of what is going on at home. With a CCTV system at home, we will be able to monitor the safety of children and elderly folks while we are away. More to the point, we can also keep an eye on maid and make sure nothing out of the ordinary is going on. That is if we were to keep track on what’s happening at home. What if it’s about work? If we can’t be at the office all the time but like to know what’s going on, installing a security camera can help do just that.
We can keep an eye on things from our home computer with a few quick clicks of your mouse and at the same time we can make sure our work related matter is running smoothly and nothing out of the ordinary is going on. If we have our own business and staff working under us, CCTV is the best equipment that can protect our staff physically against violence from customers. At the same time, it can also protect them against false accusations that perhaps may be coming from colleagues or even from client and customers.
It is also helpful to keep track on the activities of the staff. Although we are told that a CCTV camera help in the fight against crime and has many benefits, however some people are opposed to their use. They believe that everyone has a right to privacy. As we all know where there is good there is bad also. Invasion of privacy is the major issue that everyone would bring up when it comes to any security system device like the CCTV camera system. The role of CCTV cameras is to constantly monitor the activities of people working and living in a location.
This actuality alone upsets people, mainly because many of us simply don’t like our privacy being marched into. We don’t look at the reason why the CCTV equipment is there. For example, when a CCTV camera is installed at a work place all the activities that are done by the employees are being recorded. Basically, it lowers the employee self-esteem and hampers productivity at times. Employees may feel ill at ease due to the constant monitoring of every activity. Besides that, hacking is one of the issues that is related to privacy.
The value of CCTV information has increased as the value of shares in market. This results in a higher risk from hackers. Hacking CCTV footage has led to privacy issues. The most common issues and are happening often among our community are images captured by CCTV of naked women distributed across the Internet. Complete protection of public security systems from hackers is definitely not possible. The reason is because the system connects to a network, therefore hackers can hack into the system virtually from outside locations easily.
Another example is if there is a CCTV camera installed near an ATM machine, hackers can easily hack the video of that camera and can easily get the pin code and any other information about a customer or ATM user which he wants. Therefore, installing a CCTV camera in the wrong place could lead to a privacy violation. Property managers should play their role by being sure they’re not acquiring any legal risks before setting up CCTV equipment. Besides those disadvantages that were mentioned above there is another disadvantage of CCTV camera.
Not everyone can afford to get it because the price range of CCTV camera is from RM1,500 (the cheapest) to RM10 000 and more depending on the brand. The initial cost per camera is high. Moreover the installation of CCTV camera may also increase the initial expenditure depending upon the complexity of the CCTV camera system as well. For example, if a property manager or owner is taking into account to equip a whole building with ample amount of surveillance equipment, then he’s looking at quite a bulky bill.
Not only that, once CCTV cameras are bought they must also be installed correctly by experts and monitored regularly, which eventually drives the cost up. Another disadvantage of CCTV camera system is that they can only monitor a limited area not every area of your office or home at all times. So many people don’t consider it as a foolproof method for crime prevention. Usually most CCTV cameras are installed out of the reach of humans, but sometimes a camera can still get damaged. Criminals who have intention to rob or do crime can vandalize the cameras in various ways, such as sticking gum or spraying something on the lens.
With that the CCTV camera will not be able to monitor any wrong doing of theirs. Besides sticking gum and spraying, they may even be able to change the angle of the camera. As we all know technology are evolving all of the time. The same goes for CCTV systems. When older models are replaced by new systems, the result is often a mix of both modern and old cameras, and this can lead to incompatibilities between systems. Older cameras might also produce low-quality footage that might not be accepted by a court as evidence if continued to be used for long.
Other than that, the camera might miss details. For example, a covered weapon which is not immediately visible on a person might not show up on CCTV footage and a CCTV camera might not catch all activity due to its position. CCTV cameras can be sensitive to hostile weather and so are generally installed in sheltered or indoor locations. Lastly, CCTV equipment is sensitive to knocks and can malfunction if interfered with in this way. Therefore, the process of monitoring can be interrupted. CONCLUSION: In a nutshell, CCTV camera has its own pros and corns.
Some people agree that these cameras help in the fight against crime, but not all the five fingers are the same. However some people are opposed to their use because they believe that everyone has a right to privacy. I personally feel that CCTV cameras should be installed in most of the places to decrease the crime rate that is increasing rapidly in our country. One strong reason to support my opinion is despite all these disadvantages CCTV camera still allows us to secure our place to a great deal. I agree that it has disadvantages but we all know nothing is perfect.
The disadvantage can be solved by using different methods. These days CCTV cameras are becoming increasingly affordable to install. In order to install CCTV surveillance systems it is a one-time expense. It is better to install a CCTV camera instead of hiring multiple security officers to monitor several different areas of your establishment or town. A handful of officers can practically “patrol” an area from a comfort that monitors a wide area, reducing manpower costs to provide the same level of security. I would like to stress that CCTV camera is very useful equipment and its advantage outweigh the disadvantage.
