New Orleans Crime Cameras Come Under Fire

WDSU.com is reporting that the New Orleans crime camera system is overly expensive and ineffective. Originally projected to cost $2 million in tax payer funds, the project has cost $6 million so far and is still not complete. Criticism comes after the city’s interim inspector released a report citing serious flaws in the system.

The system was originally conceived as a way to deter criminals and better identify criminal activity within the city; however, out of the 250 installed cameras, only 145 are currently in operation. In addition to the low density of cameras, other recent reports have indicated that crime areas do little to no good in deterring overall crime, and don’t offer much help in identifying criminals.

Do you think a city-wide crime camera system could work, or are all such systems a waste of taxpayer money? Leave a comment.

Studies Question the Benefit of Surveillance Cameras

Prevention Works, the blog for the National Crime Prevention Council, posted a story today that reviews multiple studies concluding that surveillance cameras have little to no effect on deterring crime in general. For example, an analysis done at the University of California, Berkley, found that surveillance cameras had no effect as a deterrent and had no effect on conviction rates; although, there was some reduction in property crime near surveillance camera installations. The post also cites the use of a $2 million surveillance system along the US-Mexico border that resulted in three arrests in a six-month period, and questions the cost benefit of such a system.