Closed Circuit Television - Essay Example

Closed Circuit Television of the of the Closed Circuit Television Some child day care centers are now using CCTV for parents to view their children while they are at the center. List at least two specific advantages and two disadvantages to using CCTV for this type of facility. Feel free to use outside sources to substantiate your views. ADVANTAGES One specific advantage is that the daycare center can cut down on staff, as staff does not have to be assigned to children on a one-to-one basis. This of course would depend on the age of the child and the overall physical and mental health as well.

But generally speaking the number of staff to monitor the whereabouts of the children would go down. If properly equipped advanced CCTV technology is used, facial recognition and the use of multiple cameras at once can cut down on time to locate a specific child when his or her caregivers come to pick them up. Different colored badges for the children can also be used to readily distinguish between boys and girls. DISADVANTAGES The presence of CCTV does not mean that the daycare administration can relax by turning over the task of safety and security to a system.

Rather the CCTV should supplement the already established security in place. Extreme care and caution should be used when sending a child off from the center and care should be taken to see that the child leaves with an established and known caregiver or relative. In case the staff suspects anything out of the ordinary, contact must be established with the parents or caregivers of the child in every doubtful circumstance. Another thing is that the persons monitoring the CCTV cameras must be alert and vigilant at all times.

There should be proper shifts established and more than one person monitoring at one time, depending on the size of the center. A plan should be in place as to what to do in case of suspicious activity. A system is only as good as its accuracy and proper use can permit. 2. Discuss any dangers that CCTV may pose to the privacy rights of citizens in this country and how we can ensure that those dangers do not become a reality. Though there is a good case for the monitoring of public and private activity in specific areas, there is also a danger of being over-monitored (Saetnan et al., 2004). This is reminiscent of George Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ in ‘1984’ and it means that our privacy rights as citizens are being trampled upon.

Just as you would feel that your privacy is being violated if a CCTV camera was watching your every move in a hotel room, there is also an equal sense of this violation on the streets of London or any modern city if it is known that you are constantly being monitored by CCTV. Nevertheless, after the events of 9/11 and the subsequent events of 7/7 in the UK have established that monitoring and surveillance via CCTV has and does play a positive role in the identification and rounding up of suspects, before or after they can do harm to life and property of honest citizens.

The PATRIOT Act in the USA gives certain rights to Homeland Security that violates a citizen’s privacy rights in the national interest- however we should still have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Public awareness and outcry against excesses should be maintained and given adequate media coverage as well. There should be no unjustified witch hunts. 3. List at least three venues where facial recognition technology would be beneficial and why it would be beneficial in that specific venue.

The first venue I would prefer is its inclusion in traffic monitoring systems, where the license number, date and time of violation is automatically tracked along with the face of the violator, so that no doubt is left in the mind of the police in booking him or her for the offence. The second venue would be in stadiums for sporting events, so that known hooligans are tracked and prevented from entering these venues, thereby making it safer for the public. It would save the event organizers lots of money in preventing events of hooliganism and the cost to repair damages caused by such events.

The third venue I would select is any one attended by our President or Prime Minister if he is to give a speech etc. People are always on the prowl to disturb our way of life and pose danger to our lives and property. 9/11 was not a solitary event, nor was 7/7, the train bombings in Madrid or embassy attacks in Nigeria. Now that Osama has been captured and killed, it is highly likely that anyone else will step into the void. Both Barack Obama and David Cameron would be prime targets. Facial recognition along with other deterrent methods would be invaluable here.

References Saetnan, A.R; Lomell, H.M & Wiecek, W. (2004). Controlling CCTV in Public Places: Is Security the Only Issue? Reflections on Norwegian and Danish Observations. Surveillance and Society, CCTV Special, Vol 2, pp 396-414.