Surveillance Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Surveillance Technology - Essay Example ⠁  Before delving into the issue of surveillance technology, it is first necessary to properly define the term â€Å"surveillance.† My understanding of the word is the monitoring of an individual or group of people for the purpose of preventing or correcting a crime. It is an important element of law enforcement to be able to keep abreast of real-time developments and movements in the public sphere. Prior to the usage of cameras and video surveillance, manual observers would need to be placed in the relevant areas. While it is important to maintain a human presence to deter crime, it is also unfeasible to be able to see everything all the time in that area. Hence it is a complementary and necessary policy to use surveillance technology. It is also important to be able to monitor more discreet elements such as odors, trace explosive materials or radiation in public areas. Surveillance technology plays a major role in this regard. Perhaps the advancement of surveillance technology from the twentieth century onwards is best shown though the rapid development of video surveillance. Cameras are used to survey traffic and to prevent and detect crime. In Britain, over 4 million closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras are in use while the United States Border Patrol spent US$64 million on remote video systems (Aresty, 2006)⠁  . Wilkerson explains that true video surveillance began in the 1960s with the introduction and application of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras (Wilkerson, 2008)⠁   by law enforcement agencies. From there, analog technology continued to develop influence surveillance techniques. Video cassette recorders allowed preservation of evidence and from the 1970s onwards businesses prone to theft mounted CCTV cameras on their premises both as a deterrent and as a tool to apprehend thieves. In family court cases, video evidence of adultery and poor parenting decided the outcomes of cases. Analog technology reached its