Slashdot Mirror
Mind How You Walk - Someone is Watching
mrbluze writes "The Telegraph has an opinion article about the future of the extensive CCTV network in the United Kingdom. Automated analysis of how and where people are walking or otherwise moving, and what objects they carry or leave behind, flags the attention of security staff. This is meant to preempt a crime and make suspects identifiable even by gait. The technology is of questionable public benefit since street crime has not decreased despite the presence of CCTV. 'An airport camera can be programmed to know what a departure hall should look like, with thousands of separate movements. A single suitcase left for any length of time would trigger an alarm. This technology was developed for use in hotels to alert staff to a breakfast tray left outside a room. Soon, it will be coming to a street near you. Why not go the whole hog and have microphones attached to cameras or embedded in street lights?'"
Sigh. Yet again, for the 437th time:
(1) Some people are able to leave the house only due to the presence of cameras. Without the cameras they would be too frightened, despite the real statistics that show that in fact little old ladies are almost never the victims of street crime. So, stick up some cameras and give some people a vast improvement in their quality of life.
(2) When shown the movie perps tend to put their hands up, thus saving vast amounts of time and hassle, and saving the victims a court appearance.
(3) Sometimes the pictures do actually show that the suspected perp who was nicked at the scene was in fact innocent.
All these are wins. Concentrating on the fact that someone who is too drunk to notice the cameras is still going to commit the crime is only one part of the picture.