Stationary Cameras and Crime - Essay Example

Different types of data were collected from this study. Firstly the people were asked to identify various crimes that took place in their locality. A nominal measurement scale which categorizes variables was used to collect data pertaining to different types of crime perpetrated in the locality. The majority of the people stated different types of crime like killing, attempted rape, physical assaults, robbery that took place. Secondly the people were asked to rate the crimes that were perpetrated in the order of the most frequently occurring crime.

The ordinal data which indicates the order of attributes studied was measured on the scale of most frequently occurring crime on one extreme and the least occurring crime on the other end. The result showed that most of the people interviewed considered robbery and attempted rape as the most frequently occurring crime. Similarly killing was rated as the least occurring crime. Next there were questions pertaining to the usefulness of stationary cameras for reducing crime. For this purpose, interval scales were used where all the levels of the scale are equal and which provide quantitative information.

On a scale of one to five the respondents were asked to measure the use of cameras in reducing crime. It was found that the majority of the people considered it a very useful tool for combating crime. Finally open ended questions were presented to describe whether the crime rate has reduced after installing the cameras. Ratio scales which enable ratio comparisons were used to measure the amount of reduction in the crime rate. For this purpose the local authorities were questioned regarding the amount of cases registered after the installation of stationary cameras.

It was found that there was reduction in the registered cases by 85 percent.Validity and reliabilityThis test possesses three types of validity. First internal validity; the ratio scales and the interval scales showed that the use of cameras was effective in reducing crime. Thus it is seen that there is a causal relationship between the two variables which states its internal validity. Secondly the two variables also show a positive relationship which states their conclusion validity. Finally the construct validity is established as the study was successful in measuring the outcome of installation of cameras.

The study however lacks external validity. These results cannot be generalized as they deal only with that particular location which is crime prone. A similar study would yield different results where the types and degrees of crime perpetrated as well as the locality is different. The test also possesses three types of reliability. First is the inter-rater reliability. The results showed that the majority of the people were in agreement of the types of crime perpetrated as well as the effectiveness of the stationary cameras in combating crime.

This result established the inter-rater reliability. The second is the internal consistency reliability. The study showed that the majority of the people answered positively on the use of cameras as well as the reduction in crime rate after the installation. The study however lacks the test-retest reliability. The results of the study were obtained during a single occasion. As