In Photography Changes the Face of Terrorism, Bruce Hoffman discusses the way CCTV cameras change our perception of terrorist attacks. He contrasts our perceptions of the terrorist standing on the balcony in the Olympic Village in Munich in 1972 to our perceptions of the terrorists from the London bombings in July 2005. Technology and the use of CCTV cameras transform our ideas about terrorists today. Terrorists were once mysterious and impossible to locate but today they are real people from our neighborhoods.
CCTV cameras have the capability to give us greater knowledge. In regards to terrorists, we often think what kind of person could do that? It was not too long ago that we had no idea. With the assistance of video surveillance, police are able to unravel this mystery. It becomes scary because terrorists are closer to us that we think. All of the terrorists from the July bombings were British citizens and lived permanently in England. One was even a schoolteacher. These details are alarming because we were under attack by people we welcomed into our country and even into our schools.
CCTV cameras are very controversial because many think they are an invasion of privacy. In central London, there is practically no place that you are not on camera. Every movement is being recorded in the hope of creating a safer city. While CCTV was not able to prevent the July bombings, their identities likely brought connections to other extremists who might have followed in their footsteps. In the London riots over the summer, the police were out numbered and could not control the looting. However, thousands of people were arrested the following days from CCTV photographs. The cameras are able to see what the police cannot and sometimes can act as a deterrent for criminals. Having grown up with heavy use of video surveillance, I find it to be just a part of life. So many criminals have been caught as a result that I personally feel a lot safer knowing they are there.
I agree with Roxanne. I think that so many people in the United States look at surveillance as a huge invasion of privacy, but if people have nothing to hide, then I don't see the big deal. Although it may seem creepy at first to think that you are always being recorded in everything you do in public, surveillance can make a city much safer by deterring criminals from acting in the first place and also helping to arrest criminals that the police might not have caught in the act.
ReplyDeleteThis post relates to Rollins, Rollins students have been opposed to security cameras because they see it as invading their privacy, but I think that in light of the recent events, security cameras would make the campus a lot safer.