Public Surveillance in the USA Essay -- CCTV, Privacy Rights, Right of

1. IntroductionAll the developed countries (developing countries are also in no way lagging behind) the incidence of the people being monitored under various surveillance systems is high of which closed circuit television system (CCTV) is gaining dominance. For instance, the UK has all over 4.2 million of them, giving it a ratio of one for every 14 persons and the USA is reported to have been installing it on a rapid stride in every conceivable location as town centers, schools, popular transportation systems etc with a spiraling budget estimated at $100 million. With the terrorists attacks looming large in the wake of 9/11 attacks and despite the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the trends are going towards more and more technology oriented surveillance methods. This has naturally caused far-flung concerns about the privacy issues and necessitated more evidence based research to inform policy and practice.The critical issue that needs to be addressed in the melody for or against the use of public surveillance system in the USA is which one takes precedence, viz, whether safety of the public and property at large or the onset of the rights of the individuals who are subjected to some sort of interference in their privacy. In other words, does a citizen have an unfettered right to privacy even when it comes to issues relating to the enforcement of law in prevention of terrorist attacks, crime and restoring security and peace of the citizens at large? I propose to argue in this paper in favor of the need for public surveillance system by advancing the reasons for its imperative and take the view that it does not amount to prima facie violation of individuals rights and in contravention to the rights guaranteed under the constitution... ...lsh. overt Area CCTV and Crime Prevention An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Justice Quarterly 26.4 (2009) 716-745. Web. 24 Apr. 2011 PrintGill, M., & Turbin, V. (1998). CCTV and shop theft Towards a realistic ev aluation In C. Norris, J. Moran, & G. Armstrong (Eds.), Surveillance, closed circuit television and social control (1998) (pp. 189-204). Aldershot Ashgate PrintSlobogin, Christopher. Privacy at Risk The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. lolly, IL University of Chicago Press, 2007. PrintSutton, Adam, and Dean Wilson. Watched over or over-watched? open street CCTV in Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 27.2 (2004) 211-230. Print.White, R., & Sutton, A. Crime prevention, urban space and social exclusion. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 31(1) 1995 82-99. Print