Are Security Cameras a Deterrent? They May Be More Valuable for Evidence, Expert Says
Surveillance cameras led police to a suspect in death of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, the boy abducted and killed earlier this month as he was allowed to walk home alone from day camp for the first time.
The incident raises questions about the need for more cameras and their value in preventing crime, the New York Times reports at its City Room blog. The blog spoke to homeland security expert James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation for his take on the issue.
Carafano said cameras may be better at catching criminals after the fact than in preventing crime in the first place. “People have this vision that for all these cameras there’s somebody sitting around watching a screen,” Carafano told the Times. “That’s not the way it goes. Normally, most of this stuff is just dumped. Then, if something happens, you go back and you go through the data.”
The blog also spoke with Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. She said “public policy is way behind technology” and there needs to be more discussion of issues. They include: Who gets to keep the recorded images and for how long? And who can access the tapes?
