Currently, CCTV is increasingly and rapidly installed in public institutions and private sector for diverse purposes such as crime prevention and control, information collection and surveillance, facility management and disaster prevention. The presen...
Currently, CCTV is increasingly and rapidly installed in public institutions and private sector for diverse purposes such as crime prevention and control, information collection and surveillance, facility management and disaster prevention. The present study started by questioning whether investment in CCTV is justified by any effects intended amid its rapid increase. Specifically, the present study attempted to find out if CCTV works for crime prevention as much as general expectation that CCTV is most effective and popular anti-crime measure in the field of security. For the purpose of this study, previous studies at home and abroad were reviewed, and data including crime statistics relative to Gwacheon and its neighborhood areas were put into empirical analysis. Besides, citizens' perception of the effectiveness of CCTV in the city of Gwacheon was surveyed as well.
In the empirical analysis, 'WDQ(Weighted Displacement Quotient)' was used to design a framework for the analysis. Plus, Gwacheon was set as an experimental zone, Anyang a buffer zone and Gunpo as a control zone to compare and analyze changes in burglaries and thefts occurred in 2005 and 2007, that is, before and after 2006 when CCTV was firstly adopted in Gwacheon. As a result of the analysis, security CCTV was found effective in preventing thefts, whereas with regard to burglaries it was rather difficult to prove the effects with nothing but WDQ values. Meanwhile, in both types of crimes, displacement effects was larger compared to diffusion effects of crime control benefits, which suggests that as security CCTV was installed in Gwacheon, crime transition to neighboring Anyang area happened.
In the questionnaire survey with citizens in Gwachoen regarding installation of security CCTV to prevent crimes, it was found residents perceive security CCTV as a positive means at least in that it gives them a psychological sense of security. Also, respondents were found to be willing to accept privacy invasion resulting from CCTV with a view to crime prevention and arrests of criminals, which indicates they want safe and secure living environment through installation of CCTV more than legal and institutional issues.
Lastly, for more efficient application of CCTV to security, this study proposed enhancing the effectiveness of CCTV by means of continuing maintenance and improvement for better performance, selecting appropriate spots for installation based on visibility, addressing inequality between areas in CCTV resources through financial support and building CCTV control and command centers. At the same time, for efficient application of CCTV-based recorded video images, this study presented a direction to revise legal and regulatory provisions concerning storage and accessibility of CCTV data and CCTV installers and operators.