NCJ Number
163211
Journal
Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1996) Pages: 72-90
Date Published
1996
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper examines public perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) in public places.
Abstract
The research was conducted for the Cambridge City Council in England, which sought to determine whether the public would support the installation of CCTV in the city center area. The main method used in the research was a public attitudes survey of a representative quota sample of residents who used the city center at the time of the survey. The survey results showed that the public generally supported the installation of CCTV cameras in public places and believed that they were effective in deterring and detecting crime. The survey also found that there was a strong bivariate correlation between support for CCTV and age, gender, and fear; however, the effect of gender disappeared in the multivariate analysis, suggesting that gender was only linked to support for CCTV through fear. The paper concludes with a discussion on the relationship between people's perceptions of safety in late modern societies and the role that CCTV might play in encouraging use of city center areas. 10 tables, 3 figures, and 8 references