Surveillance in Public Areas

Cameras in Public Places

Q1. List all the places you traveled this past week where you likely appeared on a closed-circuit television. Do you believe your environment was safer with CCTV? Explain?

Over the course of the past week, I have been in stores had CCTV. Overall, I did not feel that these stores were high-risk environments to begin with. Arguably, this may have made the environments safer for the cashiers who worked there as the presence of cameras can act as a deterrent to theft, especially if the cashiers are dealing with expensive merchandise or cash transactions.

From my own personal perspective, however, while it may have discouraged shoplifting (and therefore ensured that the price of goods did not go up due to stealing), I did not necessarily feel safer because of the CCTV. The time I spent engaging in my transactions in these stores was very brief. I may have felt differently if I was in a higher-risk environment like an airport or public transportation and appreciated the cameras more. I do feel safer in a bank if I see a CCTV and I am using an ATM machine. Of course, it is also possible I was videoed in CCTV without my knowledge in a public area.

Q2. Do you believe CCTV in public places such as schools (including classrooms), shopping malls, airports, parking lots, etc. violates your right to privacy? Why or why not?

In most instances, I do not. I feel that there is not the same expectation to privacy in these public areas that there is in someone’s home, a physician’s office, or other private areas. Especially if people are notified that they are being filmed on CCTV, they cannot expect to have private interactions in a pubic area. Most stores notify customers when there is a CCTV, or, in the case of shopping malls, the camera is very visible. It is easy to see one’s reflection coming or going

Q3. Where would you like to see CCTV added in the United States? Explain.

Although I do not think it is an invasion of privacy in public areas, I admit I am not sure I would want the sense of constantly being watched to the same degree as the individuals being interviewed in the South Korean video (Arirang Culture, 2015). There is a level of relaxation when shopping in a clothing store and using a changing room, or having a conversation in a café where it is pleasurable to relax and not feel as if every move is being watched (or as if every bit of food being picked from one’s teeth is being observed).

However, given the risks of mass shootings, having CCTV may be useful in public transport or in the common areas before urban landmarks and other common areas. It may also be useful in mass spectacles, such as sports events. If it is a public location and the focus is merely on looking for physical activity that may be problematic, versus monitoring specific conversations or specific people, the use of the technology is less problematic. It is no less intrusive than a security guard.

Q4. Where do you believe CCTV should not be allowed? Explain.

CCTV should not be permitted where people may be intimately exposed, such as dressing rooms and doctor’s offices. Any safety concerns can easily be addressed by having surveillance in waiting rooms or elsewhere in the store. Also, semi-private locations such as counselling sessions should not be recorded without the individual’s stated permission. Personal hotel rooms, gym locker rooms, and monitoring employee work areas to ensure they are not taking too many breaks is also problematic, however (Surveillance cameras, 2022). Even though these are public spaces, they could be used to personally humiliate or discipline someone, and if there is the suspicion of illegal activity going on, a warrant should be needed. Or, in the case of employees, workers’ output should be reviewed, versus having every movement tracked.