Measure type: Surveillance

Surveillance is the measure of monitoring the behaviour, activities, or other changing information, usually of people for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting.

Monitoring of traffic is a related activity which can be used for general traffic management or incident management.

Description

Surveillance is the first step in the reaction chain detection-perception-interpretation-formulating action-acting. The essence of surveillance lies in the detection of the actual situation. This can be done in various ways:

• by dedicated observers on location
• remotely by dedicated observers
• by the public

Examples

By dedicated observers on location

Police officer on surveillance

Observation of the situation by dedicated observers on location can be done either by observers that are incognito, or observers that are clearly distinguishable. Both strategies have their advantages:

• observation by observers that are incognito can reveal the situation in its natural behaviour, undisturbed by the fact that it is observed. This can reveal behaviour (and its causes) that otherwise remain undetected.
• observation by observers that are clearly distinguishable can convey the presence of authority and exert a mitigating effect on the behaviour of the observed.

Remotely by dedicated observers

Security cameras in the street

Monitoring with the help of cameras (CCTV) has become a common method throughout all Europe to combat crime and terrorism. In the UK more than 4 million cameras have been installed (The Associated Press, 2007).

By the public

Example of an Amber Alert SMS

This concerns involving (a select part of) the public in the detection of crime. This can both be facilitated by electronic means and more traditional means. Examples of both approaches can be found in:

• The USA 'Eagle Eyes' initiative of the Air Force office of Special Investigation
• 'Veilige wijk' The Hague
• Amber alert
• Gulfport Alternative Policing strategy

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of surveillance against crime is rooted in three effects:

• its contribution to the reaction chain
• the mitigating effect of clearly visible observation/observants
• the contribution it can have to the prosecution of crime (gathering evidence and leads)

Security issues where this measure can be effective and influenced by the urban planner, are:

Security issues
Financial gain	Boredom or compulsive behaviour	Impulse	Conflict in beliefs
Burglary{{#info:Burglary is the crime of illicitly entering a building with the intent to commit an offence, particularly (but not limited to) theft.}}	Physical assault{{#info:Assault, is a crime which involves causing a victim to fear or to experience any type of violence, except for sexual violence}}	Destruction by riots{{#info:Destruction by riots is the act of vandalism of property by organised groups for a shared rational or rationalised reason.}}	Mass killing{{#info:Mass killing is the crime of purposely causing harm or death to a group of (unknown) people in order to make a statement or to influence the public opinion. This threat is exerted out of wilful action by fanatics: terrorists or criminal activists.}}
Ram-raiding{{#info:Ram raid is a particular technique for burglars to gain access to primarily commercial premises, by means of driving -usually stolen- vehicles into locked or closed entrances, exits or windows.}}	Sexual assault{{#info:Sexual assault is assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent}}		Destruction of property by fanatics{{#info:Destruction by fanatics is the crime of purposely causing damage in order to make a statement or to influence the public opinion.}}
Pickpocketing{{#info:Pickpocketing is a form of theft that involves the stealing of valuables from a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. }}	Vandalism{{#info:Vandalism is the act of wilful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or defacement of property without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control.}}
Robbery{{#info:Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. It is used her exclusively for acts committed to individual persons.}}	Graffiti{{#info:Grafitti is the defacement of property by means of writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed on a surface in a public place without the consent of the owner or person having custody or control. }}
Raid{{#info:Raid is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value from a commercial venue by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear.}}	Antisocial Behaviour{{#info:Antisocial behaviour is an accumulation category of relatively small crimes that highly influence the security perception of citizens. }}
Vehicle theft{{#info:Vehicle theft is the crime of theft, or attempt of theft of or from a motor vehicle (automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle, etc.).}}

Considerations

General considerations

• In order for surveillance to have the intended effects, it is essential that the reaction chain is unbroken. As often the links in the reaction chain are managed by different people or organisations, the communication in this chain is of vital essence.

For surveillance to be effective, an observer needs to be able to oversee an area. In an urban context, the extent to which an area can be overseen by an observer is highly dependent on

• the available positions for the observer
• the field of vision, which is directly related to the geometry of the space
• the lighting conditions

Urban planning considerations

Urban Planning can promote the natural surveillance of public space through providing for a diverse mix of land uses. A diverse mix of land uses ensures that there will be activity on the street for the most part of the day, which in turn increases the continuous presence of people on streets all the time. Areas with poor mix of land use or single use areas become deserted during certain hours of the day, creating a suitable environment for the criminal activities.

Safety/security considerations

Situational crime prevention measures such as camera surveillance are subject of displacement effects. A UK-study (2009) empirically tested this thesis in the UK on 13 CCTV projects and concludes that spatial displacement of crime due to camera surveillance does occur, but not in a frequent and uniform way across space and types of offences

Highly visible forms of surveillance can raise the prominence of an object, which can raise the attractiveness of the object for fanatics.

Social considerations

Social side effects of surveillance can be:

• increased perception of unsafety by the public (some research suggests observation of increased public security measures such as video surveillance of public places reduces citizens social fear of crime but increases their personal fear of crime (e.g. breaking and entering of their homes)
• increased perception of safety by the public
• decreased perception of privacy by the public
• overconfidence
• reflective fear; for example, critics argue that information technology-based solutions to security problems (including the use of video surveillance) are not suited to confront threats but only to reassure the public that something is being done. This facilitates the rise of a security culture of moral panic as illustrated by the London bombings in 2005.

Economic considerations

Surveillance measures (see case example below) intend to increase the level of security, lowering the negative efffects of security threats. Security measures, however, also require investment in capital, time and money exacting economic cost/impact. The costs of surveillance measures contain the relatively straightforward direct expenditures on capital equipment and operational costs (both temporary and permanent), and in addition generate various types of secondary effects. Whether the costs are making sense from an economic point of view, depends on many factors, and can be answered by two distinct sets of questions:

1. Are the envisioned surveillance measures cost effective from a socio-economic point of view, or are there better alternatives?
2. Which specific agents (individuals, companies, sectors, authorities) are affected by the surveillance measures, and to which extend? How do the envisioned measures adjust the behaviour of these agents, and of course the behaviour of criminals/terrorists?

Economic tools can help the decision makers to answer these questions and to prevent wasteful expenditures on security (of course in collaboration with insights from criminology, sociology, etc.).

Case example: dedicated surveillance on location

Stewart and Mueller (2008) performed a cost-benefit analysis of the Federal Air Marshal Service and hardening cockpit doors as security measures against terrorist events like 9/11. They conclude that even if the Federal Air Marshal Service prevents one 9/11 replication each decade, the $900 million annual spending on Air Marshal Service fails a cost-benefit analysis at an annual estimated cost of $180 million per life saved (compared to a societal willingness to pay to save a life of $1 - $10 million per saved life). On the other hand, Stewart and Mueller conclude that with $40 million per year, target hardening of cockpit doors is one of the most cost-effective security measures with an annual cost of $800,000 per life saved.

Case example: remote surveillance by dedicated observer

The current debate about CCTV (camera surveillance) with regards to its cost-effectiveness is pointing out the following topics:

• Empirical research finds that the overall crime rates drop in the areas with CCTV, but not in all cases and situations. Furthermore, crimes committed in the heat of the moment, such as assaults are in general not affected by the presence of cameras.
• Total costs of CCTV far exceed that of the camera hardware alone.
• To be effective, surveillance systems should be fully integrated into law enforcement practices.

Mobility considerations

In the mobility field, surveillance is often applied for enforcement of speed limits or other traffic rules such as only parking at the allowed spaces.

For speed limit enforcement, surveillance is usually applied with a radar system to measure the speed and a camera with flasher to detect the car driver by its license plate. Also trajectory control is applied, where all drivers are detected at both ends of a trajectory, after which their average speed is calculated and checked against the speed limit.

Legal considerations

Main legal considerations relate to the impact of surveillance-releted measures on privacy, collection and use of personal data, and human rights. VITRUV offers a summary checklist and a list of methods to assess legal aspects in resilience-enhancing urban planning.