Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) is a surveillance system which signals are not publicly distributed but are monitored, primarily for surveillance and security purposes" (Boyne, 2000, p. 288). Originally, this technology was adopted in many retail establishments in order to prevent or deter burglary (Graham and Wood, 2003). Today, CCTV is actively used as a crime prevention strategy (McLean et al., 2013). In accordance with Haggerty (2009), this system can be a solution to a wide range of social problems such as vandalism, drug use, sexual and racial harassment and disorderly behaviour. The UK is one of the first countries that have deployed CCTV surveillance to prevent crime (Agustina and Clavell, 2011). However, this initiative has failed to produce a strong effect. In 2008, only 3% of street robberies in London were solved with the help of CCTV images (Bowcott, 2008). The main aim of this essay is to critically discuss the strengths and weaknesses of CCTV technology as a crime prevention strategy. The structure of the present essay is four-fold. After a brief introduction, the development of CCTV in the UK is discussed. The third section addresses the most critical weaknesses and strengths of the technology, followed by some concluding statements.
2. Development of CCTV in the UK and Its Effectiveness.
The history of the growth of CCTV technology as a crime prevention strategy began in 1993 with an abduction of a toddler by two ten-year old boys who were caught on a surveillance camera in a shopping centre (Bowcott, 2008). The growing level of public anxiety about rising crime had convinced the government to invest in surveillance technology and open street CCTV (Agustina and Clavell, 2011). By the mid-1990s, CCTV became the dominant crime prevention programme accounting for about two thirds of the government's budget. Although it is hard to accurately measure the number of surveillance cameras and systems in the UK, McLean et al.