Do Hidden Cameras Make Our Cities Safer?

I am torn. A recent article tells me that hidden cameras in a park near where I live are effective at making me safer. The combination of a hidden camera and a "you in the green shirt" loudspeaker seems to work.

On the other hand, many privacy advocates I know (look left for Michael Geist's blog) are uncomfortable with a benevolent Big Brother monitoring you in more and more places.

I have been disappointed on several occasions when developers propose CCTV cameras as security instead of actual physical design that allows ordinary community members to interact and animate public spaces. A camera is a sign of a building determined to look inward and cowering at the thought of strangers outside.

On the other hand, should we acknowledge that some areas have become impersonal enough that normal mechanisms of enforcing norms of social control fail us to the point that it becomes a vicious circle: there is no social controls so alienated people cause mischief. This makes people more feel less ownership of their community, which in turn reduces social controls and causes more alienation.

The solution, besides more police or more invisible robocops, is to design urban spaces so that everyone feels a part of the community.

Tags: Urban Planning Urban Design Safety Privacy

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