Topic 88

Surveillance and privacy by Wilanth

Surveillance cameras have become such a common part of a certain place around the world in the past few years. Supermarkets, department stores, highways, streets, convenience stores and now even in schools there are surveillance cameras somewhere in the ceiling. Yes, there is crime in the world everywhere. But isn’t it too much to have nowhere to go without being recorded onto a surveillance tape?

At East Bay High school, teachers have a new way of looking over the campus. When a commotion is seen on surveillance, teachers can send a security officer right over to the scene. The principle has access to these surveillance tapes even at home 24/7. Students have no way of denial, since there are these surveillance cameras.

Now not many people would disagree, that this is going too far, and has started to be more of an invasion of privacy instead of a way of security. Most states in the US do not have cameras in washrooms or locker rooms, but not all. But, even if there aren’t cameras in the washroom, there are cameras outside watching a person go in and out of a washroom. Recently, with the technology we have, cameras are so hard to see, that most people do not know that they are being watched.

The whole purpose of a camera is to catch crime. But criminals aren’t normal civilians walking down streets, not knowing they are watched. Criminals know, and when they realize that they are being watched, they some how get rid of the camera or just move targets. So the cameras in stores are actually there to scare crooks away.

There must be a different way of protecting stores other than having cameras that monitor the store 24/7, taking away everyone’s privacy