Cameras’ record not reliable

As campus security remains of paramount concern, Queen’s is looking into installing multiple closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras throughout campus.

Queen’s has six cameras located indoors at high-activity locations such as the JDUC and the Campus Bookstore. The cameras provide documentation of any occurrences and aren’t monitored live.

Although they’re intended to prevent crime, adding more cameras would infringe on students’ privacy without making them safer.

If people are motivated enough to do something illegal, having a video camera to document the crime won’t be an effective deterrent—evident in previous thefts at Queen’s from locations with CCTV.

Relying on technology to stop or minimize crime isn’t sufficient, nor can it be rationalized in terms of expenses.

Building this type of infrastructure would prove to be a time-consuming and costly project, which the University is already—quite visibly—undergoing.

CCTV’s proponents argue that the surveillance cameras would help identify perpetrators after a crime. The reality is, however, these cameras aren’t of the best quality and many times collecting a clear image of the perpetrator is impossible; the footage would likely not provide adequate evidence, as has been the case in the past.

An expansion of this camera system would blur the line between private and public. Few wouldn’t feel apprehensive knowing some stranger could watch their every move. The Orwellian premise for such infrastructure wouldn’t be justifiable.

The underlying principle here, as Access and Privacy Commissioner Diane Kelly noted, is the need to balance our desire for security with the right to privacy. A campus-wide surveillance system would make many people feel as though their privacy was being invaded, a move Queen’s can’t validate because of the system’s demonstrated unreliability.

Installing more cameras across campus would be a bad move, with a low deterrence rate and a high creepy factor.

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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