The Ministry of the Interior also conducted a study on the displacement of crime as a result the sh

(PIDMAG) in the streets of Antwerp you can find 96 surveillance cameras today. the shopping channel 24 hours on 24, 7 days on 7 keep these cameras passers the shopping channel eye. And that not only has advantages. "If you constantly checked, you act just because you checked, not because you take responsibility," the shopping channel says Prof. Walter Weyns.
With camera surveillance Antwerp city wants primarily to detect and prevent crime. Antwerp Police is responsible for the processing of these strategically placed cameras. The city government provides a large amount of this security measure. But what is actually the value of these expensive, 360 degree rotating, technological marvels? Sense and nonsense
One thing is absolutely certain: Register surveillance cameras on a regular basis of criminal offenses. In Mechelen example, a weekly forty stolen cars to cameras are recorded. Occasionally images can facilitate opzoekingsbericht. The deterrent effect of cameras also ensures a percentage decrease in vandalism, illegal dumping and violence attempt. A bit further away from us, in New Zealand, the identity of a lottery winner has recently been overtaken by a surveillance camera. Great for the man, but what if the images would fall? Into the wrong hands On the use of security cameras in Antwerp and surrounding counties, there is a growing discontent. the shopping channel It seems that the purpose of the cameras that record of futility like dog poo, loitering or loud misgooide cans on the street, then a GAS penalty on the bus this has nothing to stabbing. Unsuspecting citizens
The Ministry of the Interior also conducted a study on the displacement of crime as a result the shopping channel of the surveillance. In the area outside the eye of the camera, the number of crimes increased by nine percent. The researchers also found that the cameras have little deterrent effect. In the controlled areas, the number of crimes fell by only two percent. the shopping channel Atrophied society
Also in the social psychological level, such surveillance the shopping channel lot of consequences. Professor Walter Weyns, professor at the Department the shopping channel of Sociology at the University of Antwerp, warns that the increased camera surveillance leading to what he calls a cardboard society''. Weyns: "In a public place, one can expect anything: Afterall, musicians, beggars. It is the place par excellence where the social life is. In a video-controlled and therefore 'securitized' the shopping channel room everyone will feel obliged to behave the shopping channel as it should, and the exceptions from the group will be met. There will be a kind of impoverished society emerged, a cardboard society. the shopping channel "
"If you constantly checked, you act just because you checked and not because you take responsibility for this." Thus says Weyns, today you get a new kind of citizen. "The citizen as we suggested in an ideal democratic situation, the ideal of the Enlightenment, was someone who took his responsibilities and actively participated the shopping channel in public life. He is not only self-centered, but focused on keeping up the society. Now you get a citizen who anxiously pulling into the public domain, having in mind the question of whether he is doing anything wrong. "Professor Weyns has full understanding of the use of this advanced technology to monitor. Sense of security and quality of life At the same time it raises questions about a government that is too much wallowing in the role of auditor. "Who is going to police the controller Before you know it, it obliges the government in the position of the guard. This is not the best way to do it. "Social fabric into something alive Illusion of Safety
So the question remains whether this expensive measure effectively achieved his goal. Surveillance cameras give us an illusion of security and the nasty feeling of a third party that keeps us close eye. We sacrifice our public space and show any kind of responsibility in the hands of the government. Does this feel safer.
This article first appeared in PIDMAG, the magazine of StampMedia, vol. 2 No. 5 p. 12-13 This article was published by Allesoverjeugd.be on 12/26/2013 This article was published by The World Tomorrow on 26.12.2013
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