Most of the time some of the crimes are displaced to nearby areas within or close to the city centre where there is no camera coverage but where there are similar opportunities to commit crimes. Indeed research carried out shows that despite the popularity of closed circuit television (CCTV)/video surveillance, evidence of its crime prevention capabilities is inconclusive. Research has largely reported its effect as “mixed”. At such cost, to go for a system that is not that foolproof is a folly.
The European Forum for Urban Security, “Charter for a Democratic Use of Video-Surveillance,” provides a useful overview of the issues at stake as well as a set of principles and tools to ensure that citizens’ rights are respected with CCTV/video surveillance systems. These include:
Necessity: The use of camera systems must be justified empirically, ideally by an independent authority. Objectives and intended outcomes must be defined.
Proportionality: CCTV equipment must be appropriate for the problem it is intended to address. Technology should “respond to the established objectives, without going further. Data should be protected and the length of time it is retained be clearly defined.
Transparency: Citizens should know what the objectives of a CCTV/video system are, what its installation and operational costs are, the areas being surveyed, and what the results are. Reports should occur regularly so citizens can make informed decisions.
Accountability: Those in charge of public CCTV systems should be clearly identified and accountable to the public, whether the systems are run by the government or private firms.
Independent oversight: An external body should be charged with ensuring that systems respect the public’s rights and are achieving their stated objectives. Ideally citizens would have a voice in the oversight process.
Indeed, this Charter drives us to challenge the whole approach to this Safe City project. What will be the role of Mauritius Telecom and the Chinese Company Huawei? The Agreement should be made public.
