Surveillance, Property, and the Body

I just came across David Kravets's recently posted comments on a University of California study of the effectiveness of public surveillance as a method of reducing violent crime rates. He points out that, although property crime rates decrease in the presence of visible surveillance cameras, violent crimes don't.

"Violent incidents do not decline in areas near the cameras relative to areas further away," added the study, which noted the cameras helped police bring charges against six people accused of felony property crimes. "We observe no decline in violent crimes occurring in public places."

Of course, I find this study fascinating. For the record, I'm far more interested in the ways the widespread distribution of surveillance cameras can be liberating, or at the very least, I'm interested in how a proliferation of visual information affects postmodern subjectivity and narrative structures. It's interesting, though, that the mechanism meant to create the illusion of safety does little to actually secure it.

Image from aforementioned Threat Level blog post.