Information about Closed Circuit Television

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific, limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point wireless links. CCTV is often used for surveillance in areas which need security, such as banks, casinos, and airports or military installations. Increasing use of CCTV in public places has caused debate over public security versus privacy. In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process that are remote from a control room, or where the environment is not comfortable for humans. CCTV systems may operate continuously or only as required to monitor a particular event.

History

The first CCTV system was installed at Test Stand VII in Peenemünde Germany in 1942, for observing the launch of V2-rockets. The noted German engineer Walter Bruch, was responsible for the design and installation of the system. CCTV recording systems are often used at launch sites to record the flight of the rockets, in order to find the possible causes of malfunctions. Film cameras are also used for this purpose. Larger rockets are often fitted with CCTV allowing pictures of stage separation to be transmitted back to earth by radio link. CCTV is also used to observe the launch pad before the launch, especially when no person may be there because of safety reasons.

Over 80% of the worlds CCTV cameras are in the UK.

Industrial processes

Industrial processes which take place under conditions dangerous for humans are today often supervised by CCTV. These are mainly processes in the chemical industry, the interior of reactors or facilities for manufacture of nuclear fuel. Use of thermographic cameras allow operators to measure the temperature of the processes.

The usage of CCTV in such processes is sometimes required by law.

Crime registration

CCTV for use outside government special facilities was developed as a means of increasing security in banks. Today it has developed to the point where it is simple and inexpensive enough to be used in home security systems, and for surveillance. Surveillance of public areas in the United Kingdom by CCTV was developed partly in response to IRA bombings. Experiments in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s (including outdoor CCTV in Bournemouth in 1985), led to several larger trial programs in the early 1990s. These were deemed successful in the government report "CCTV: Looking Out For You", issued by the Home Office in 1994, and paved the way for a massive increase in the number of CCTV systems installed. Today, systems cover most town and city centres, and many stations, car-parks and estates. The exact number of CCTV cameras in the UK is not known but a 2002 working paper by Michael McCahill and Clive Norris of UrbanEye^[1], based on a small sample in Putney High Street, estimated the number of surveillance cameras in private premises in London is around 500,000 and the total number of cameras in the UK is around 4,200,000. The UK has one camera for every 14 people.

Claims that they reduce or deter crime have not been clearly borne out by independent studies^[2], though the government claims that when properly used they do result in deterrence, rather than displacement. One clear effect that has been noted is a reduction of car crime when used in car parks. Cameras have also been installed in taxis to deter violence against drivers^[3][4], and also in mobile police surveillance vans.^[5] In some cases CCTV cameras have become a target of attacks themselves.^[6] Middlesbrough council have recently installed "Talking CCTV" cameras in their busy town-centre.^[7] It is a system pioneered in Wiltshire which allows CCTV operators to communicate directly with the offenders they spot.^[8] This idea is first known to have appeared in George Orwell's famous cautionary tale Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The use of CCTV in the United States is less common, though increasing, and generally meets stronger opposition. In 1998 3,000 CCTV systems were found in New York City.^[9] There are 2,200 CCTV systems in Chicago.^[10]

The most measurable effect of CCTV is not on crime prevention, but on detection and prosecution. Several notable murder cases have been solved with the use of CCTV evidence, notably the Jamie Bulger case, and catching David Copeland, the Soho nail bomber. The use of CCTV to track the movements of missing children is now routine.

After the bombings of London on 7 July 2005, CCTV footage was used to identify the bombers. The media was surprised that few tube trains actually had CCTV cameras, and there were some calls for this to be increased.

On July 22, 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station. CCTV footage has debunked some police claims.^[11] Because of the bombing attempts the previous day, some of the tapes had been supposedly removed from CCTV cameras for study, and they were not functional.^[12] The use of DVR technology may solve this problem.^[13]

Monitoring for safety

A CCTV system may be installed where an operator of a machine cannot directly observe people who may be injured by unexpected machine operation. For example, on a subway train, CCTV cameras may allow the operator to confirm that people are clear of doors before closing them and starting the train. Operators of an amusement park ride may use a CCTV system to observe that people are not endangered by starting the ride. A CCTV camera and dashboard monitor can make reversing a vehicle safer, if it allows the driver to observe objects or people not otherwise visible.

Closed Circuit Digital Photography (CCDP)

A development in the world of CCTV (October 2005) is in the use of megapixel digital still cameras that can take 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution images of the camera scene either on a time lapse or motion detection basis. Images taken with a digital still camera have higher resolution than those taken with a typical video camera.Relatively low-cost digital still cameras can be used for CCTV purposes, using CCDP software that controls the camera from the PC.

Images of the camera scene are transferred automatically to a computer every few seconds. Images may be monitored remotely if the computer is connected to a network.

Closed Circuit Digital Photography (CCDP) is more suited for capturing and saving recorded photographs, whereas Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is more suitable for live monitoring purposes.

Traffic monitoring

Many cities and motorway networks have extensive traffic-monitoring systems, using closed-circuit television to detect congestion and notice accidents. Many of these cameras however, are owned by private companies and transmit data to drivers GPS systems.

The London congestion charge is enforced by cameras positioned at the boundaries of and inside the congestion charge zone, which automatically read the registration plates of cars. If the driver does not pay the charge then a fine will be imposed. Similar systems are being developed as a means of locating cars reported stolen.

Privacy

Main article: Privacy

Opponents of CCTV point out the loss of privacy of the people under surveillance, and the negative impact of surveillance on civil liberties. Furthermore, they argue that CCTV displaces crime, rather than reducing it. Critics often dub CCTV as "Big Brother surveillance", a reference to George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which featured a two-way telescreen in every home through which The Party would monitor the populace.

The recent growth of CCTV in housing areas also raises serious issues about the extent to which CCTV is being used as a social control measure rather than simply a deterrent to crime.

Quite apart from government-permitted use (or abuse), questions are also raised about illegal access to CCTV recordings. The Data Protection Act 1998 in the United Kingdom led to legal restrictions on the uses of CCTV recordings, and also mandated their registration with the Data Protection Agency. The successor to the DPA, the Information Commissioner in 2004 clarified that this required registration of all CCTV systems with the Commissioner, and prompt deletion of archived recordings. However subsequent case law (Durant vs. FSA) has limited the scope of the protection provided by this law, and not all CCTV systems are currently regulated.^[14]

A 2007 report by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office, highlighted the need for the public to be made more aware of the "creeping encroachment" into their civil liberties created by the growing use of surveillance apparatus. A year prior to the report Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, warned that Britain was "sleepwalking into a surveillance society". ^[15]

In 2007, the UK watchdog CameraWatch claimed that the majority of CCTV cameras in the UK are operated illegally or are in breach of privacy guidelines. In response, the Information Office denied the claim adding that any reported abuses of the Data Protection Act are swiftly investigated. ^[16]

In the United States there are no such data protection mechanisms. It has been questioned whether CCTV evidence is allowable under the Fourth Amendment which prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures". The courts have generally not taken this view.

In Canada the use of video surveillance has grown exponentially. In Ontario, both the Municipal and Provincial versions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act outline very specific guidlines that control how Images and Information can be gathered by this method and/or released.

More recent developments

The first CCTV cameras used in public spaces were crude, conspicuous, low definition black and white systems without the ability to zoom or pan. Modern CCTV cameras use small high definition colour cameras that can not only focus to resolve minute detail, but by linking the control of the cameras to a computer, objects can be tracked semi-automatically. For example, they can track movement across a scene where there should be no movement, or they can lock onto a single object in a busy environment and follow it. Being computerised, this tracking process can also work between cameras.

The implementation of automatic number plate recognition produces a potential source of information on the location of persons or groups.

There is no technological limitation preventing a network of such cameras from tracking the movement of individuals. Reports have also been made of plate recognition misreading numbers leading to the billing of the entirely wrong people.^[17]

CCTV critics see the most disturbing extension to this technology as the recognition of faces from high-definition CCTV images. This could determine a persons identity without alerting him that his identity is being checked and logged. The systems can check many thousands of faces in a database in under a second. The combination of CCTV and facial recognition has been tried as a form of mass surveillance, but has been ineffective because of the low discriminating power of facial recognition technology and the very high number of false positives generated. This type of system has been proposed to compare faces at airports and seaports with those of suspected terrorists or other undesirable entrants.



Computerized monitoring of CCTV images is under development, so that a human CCTV operator does not have to endlessly look at all the screens, allowing an operator to observe many more CCTV cameras. These systems do not observe people directly. Instead they track their behaviour by looking for particular types of body movement behavior, or particular types of clothing or baggage. The theory behind this is that in public spaces people behave in predictable ways. People who are not part of the 'crowd', for example car thieves, do not behave in the same way. The computer can identify their movements, and alert the operator that they are acting out of the ordinary. Recently in the latter part of 2006, news reports on UK television brought to light new technology developed which uses microphones in conjunction with CCTV. If a person is observed to be shouting in an aggressive manner (i.e., provoking a fight), the camera can automatically zoom in and pinpoint the individual and alert a camera operator. Of course this then lead to the discussion that the technology can also be used to eavesdrop and record private conversations from a reasonable distance (e.g., 100 metres or about 330 feet).

The same type of system can track an identified individual as they move through the area covered by CCTV. This is being developed in the USA as part of the project co-funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. With software tools, the system will be able to develop three-dimensional models of an area and track/monitor the movement of objects within it.

To many, the development of CCTV in public areas, linked to computer databases of people's pictures and identity, presents a serious breach of civil liberties. Critics fear the possibility that one would not be able to meet anonymously in a public place or drive and walk anonymously around a city. Demonstrations or assemblies in public places could be affected as the state would be able to collate lists of those leading them, taking part, or even just talking with protesters in the street.

Retention, storage and preservation

The long-term storage and archiving of CCTV recordings is an issue of concern in the implementation of a CCTV system. Re-usable media such as tape may be cycled through the recording process at regular intervals. There also may be statutory limits on retention of data under some sort of Data Protection Act. However, individual recordings may be retained for indefinite periods for use in investigations or as evidence in legal proceedings.

Recordings are kept for several purposes. Firstly, the primary purpose for which they were created (e.g., to monitor a facility). Secondly, they need to be preserved for a reasonable amount of time to recover any evidence of other important activity they might document (e.g., a group of people passing a facility the night a crime was committed). Finally, the recordings may be evaluated for historical, research or other long-term information of value they may contain (e.g., samples kept to help understand trends for a business or community).

Special uses

• A very special use of CCTV is at Hessdalen AMS where by it is used for discovery of unidentified flying objects.
• In the earlier days of television, some programs, and selected live sporting events, were shown on closed-circuit television in theaters across the United States. From 1965-1970, the Indianapolis 500 was shown live on closed-circuit television in many movie theatres. The first few WrestleMania events were shown in such a way as well.
• In the UK, some places have installed talking CCTV, where the operator can talk to the people they monitor.

CCTV countermeasures

Unless physically protected, CCTV cameras have been found to be vulnerable against a variety of tactics.

• Some will deliberately destroy cameras.^[18]
• Simply spraying certain substances over the lens will make the image too blurry to be read.
• Laser pointers will temporarily blind some cameras,^[19] and higher powered lasers can damage them. However, since lasers are monochromatic, colour filters can reduce the effect of laser pointers.
• For wireless networks, broadcasting a signal at the same frequency of the CCTV network is reported to be able to jam it.
• Some will shoot at the cameras. Some outdoor cameras, such as those employed by the Chicago Police Department, have bullet-resistant housing.
• Some will find where the CCTV's feed is recorded (such as at a VCR) and take or destroy the recording device or media. This can be countered using decoy recording devices while the real recording device is in a less obvious place.

CCTV cameras in popular culture

The difficulty of avoiding CCTV detection often appears in games and films.

• In the film The Bourne Ultimatum (film) the CIA uses British CCTV cameras to track Jason Bourne and a reporter through a train station (Waterloo).
• In the computer game Duke Nukem II, the player earns bonus points for destroying all the security cameras in a level.
• In films like Speed and , CCTV is defeated by tricking it into playing looping recordings.
• In the game , the player can prevent penalties by stealing tapes of CCTV recordings that may have picked Agent 47 up.
• In the Nintendo 64 video game GoldenEye 007, higher settings of difficulty yield higher numbers of CCTV security cameras; detection results in triggered alarms, bringing guards. Other security cameras are mounted with machine guns, and can differentiate between the player (Bond) and enemy personnel when firing. To make matters worse, these combination cameras/automatic guns are often mounted in areas of little cover and low visibility. Often the destruction of CCTV cameras are a required objective.
• In the Splinter Cell video game series, CCTV cameras and how the player interacts with them play a large role in the game. If a player is caught on one, an alarm will sound, and if a player destroys one, nearby guards will notice and sound an alarm anyway.
• The Metal Gear Solid Series often uses CCTV cameras. Some of which are mounted with machine guns which fire at Snake when he passes in front of them. Others just trigger the alarm. Snake is able to defeat CCTV cameras either by destroying them with missiles, hiding from them using cardboard boxes, or jamming them with chaff grenades.

Stars of CCTV, the debut album from Staines-based British band HARD-Fi, was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize.

• In the British TV Show Torchwood, the characters frequently hack into Cardiff's CCTV to investigate alien threats.

See also

• Surveillance
• Big Brother
• Fake Security Camera
• Bugging
• Sousveillance (inverse surveillance)
• Privacy International
• Eye in the sky
• Physical security

References

External links

• UK Government pro-CCTV campaign
• Assessing the Impact of CCTV, a UK Home office study on the effectiveness of closed-circuit television
• The Register story: Face recognition useless for crowd surveillance
• CCTV Guidance notes from the UK Information Commissioner's Office
• CBC Digital Archives - The Long Lens of the Law
• The Urbaneye Project on CCTV in Europe
• CCTV:Constant Cameras Track Violators National Institute of Justice Journal 249 (2003). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

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