It’s getting so a person can’t pass around a joint, snatch something from a jewelry store display or spray-paint a building without getting noticed on video surveillance equipment.
Of course, that same equipment sees people doing good deeds, too, like properly disposing of garbage, helping someone change a tire or raise money for charity. It sees people going about their normal daily routines, but that is of little concern.
Video surveillance is a fact of life. It’s in public places, including entrances to schools and hospitals, on buses and on street corners, and in commercial spaces such as stores, banks and malls. Quite often, individuals see themselves on video monitors as they enter a commercial establishment, but that camera angle is just the tip of the iceberg. Customers don’t get to see themselves checking the “best before” date on a loaf of bread, or stashing granola bars or cordless drills into their pockets. The difference, of course, is no one will ever acknowledge the person who checks to see if the bread is still fresh, but the shoplifter might end up with a criminal record.
The purpose of the surveillance equipment is the protection of persons and property. If it helps to identify thieves, muggers and drug dealers, great. If it prevents criminal activity, even better.
The use of such equipment does raise questions about invasion of privacy, but people acting properly in public places should not be overly concerned.
The public, of course, pays for this equipment, either through their taxes for systems in public places, or through their purchases for systems installed in retail establishments.
The cost to the public, however, could be even higher if the equipment wasn’t available to help guard against crimes like assaults, trafficking and thefts.
It’s a fact that drug dealers do business in Prince Edward Island high schools. Surveillance equipment helped identify drug activity at two Charlottetown schools in the past month. Maybe that new awareness will scare some of the dealers away from those schools and other schools.
Surveillance equipment ranges from simple to complex, and it can be used for good and for evil. In the wrong hands it can become an electronic peeping Tom, or the means for a thief to gain access codes to a home or business.
When used effectively and with sufficient public notice, surveillance systems will deter crime. When deterrence fails, the system still serves as a more effective witness than the most highly trained set of human eyes. Surveillance systems — when properly used — have a place in modern society.
From the Summerside, P.E.I., Journal Pioneer.