Thanks to http://minnielass.stumbleupon.com for some of these links.
- Theodore Dalrymple at City Journal discusses possible reasons why the UK’s cameras don’t actually stop any crime.
- The Home Secretary of the UK thinks cameras that talk to you and tell you to obey are an excellent thing (I’m not making this stuff up)
- More on whether these cameras stop crime (btw, look at this article to see the money spent)
- Back and forth on cameras – note the comments: if people aren’t watched, will crime be as bad as it is in South Africa?
If people aren’t watched they will stick you with a hot shiv! But seriously though, the over watching of society may be inducing much of the crime. Not in any counterintuitive way mind you, but rather in a opportunity cost. We can either spend money on surveillance which, like locks, only keep honest people honest, or we we can spend money on things that do prevent crime. Cameras are really there to catch people and that’s about it.