final draft of of summaries

7/29/2019 Final Draft of of Summaries

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Gonzalez 1

Camera Surveillance of the Public Now and in the Near Future Summaries

One Sentence Summary

In a chapter of Christopher SloboginsPrivacy at Risk, he declares that closed-

circuit televisions, CCTVs, can only decrease and prevent crimes when the most

refined cameras are located in the right spot and are monitored by skilled

operatives; otherwise, according to his analysis of multiple studies, CCTVs are not

cost effective and are a threat to the Fourth Amendment.


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Gonzalez 2

Paragraph Summary

In Christopher Slobogins chapter, Camera Surveillance of the Public Now

and in the Near Future, he claims that after September 11, closed-circuit

televisions, CCTVs, became apparent in major cities and small towns. Slobogin

stresses that CCTVs gained popularity for security measures and convenience in

terms of efficiency and cost. However, Slobogin points out that CCTVs are not

very convenient as they made little to no impact on crime rates. For example, the

average reduction in crime was an insignificant four percent. Slobogin responds to

this statistic by claiming that other factors were the cause of the alleviated crime,

like more police officers on duty and so on. Although Slobogin acknowledges the

fact that CCTVs assisted in finding those who were responsible for the London

bombing in July 2005, he still enquiries whether, overall, they are cost effective.

Aside from the slight reduction in crimes, Slobogin points out that CCTVs are

invading citizens right to privacy. Again, he questions whether privacy is at stake

when ones every move is being monitored. Slobogin concludes that CCTVs are

posing a threat to the Fourth Amendment and can only be cost effective if certain

measures, as using the most refined cameras, are taken.


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Gonzalez 3

One Page Summary

According to a chapter in ChristopherSloboginsPrivacy at Risk, the use of

CCTVs became remarkably common in major cities and small towns after the

tragedy of September 11 (82). For this reason, it is no surprise that CCTVs have

led to such enhancements that they are able to distinguish people that have

outstanding criminal records using facial recognition systems (84). However, this

does not impress Slobogin; instead, he argues that CCTVs have not made a

significant impact on society and are threatening citizens right to the Fourth

Amendment (81).

Slobogin points out that several flaws can accompany the use of CCTVs. For

example, Slobogin proposes that cameras and videotapes can easily be destroyed,

recordings can be of poor quality, and images caught on tape are always subject to

interpretation (86). He also suggests that most of the time, criminals do not care

about surveillance cameras being present which lessens chances of reducing or

preventing crimes (87). Furthermore, Glasgow citizens have claimed feeling less

safe because the overwhelming use of cameras caused a sense of danger (85).

Slobogin also demonstrates that CCTVs are ineffective as they only helped

reduce crime by four percent (85). He also clarifies that five cities in the United

States ceased the use of CCTVs because of their inefficiency (85). Similarly, in

Sydney only one arrest was made within one hundred and sixty days (85).


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Slobogin even suggests that the minor alleviation in crime was due to other factors,

such as police officers on duty or the fact that criminals can simply relocate (87).

Most importantly, Slobogin proposes that CCTVs are an invasion of privacy

(81). The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is violated through CCTVs

because our private thoughts are translated to actions and are captured by cameras

(81). Overall, Slobogin mentions that CCTVs pose a threat to our privacy and are

only cost effective when they are used correctly (88).

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