It is reassuring to note the debate over the growing use of surreptitious surveillance camera devices. It is good to know that, in spite of the very valid security concerns people everywhere must face today, there are still those who instinctively feel that the use of hidden surveillance cameras is just plain wrong.
Most of us were taught that peeking through keyholes was a bad as children. You could be punished if you were caught doing it no mater what you discovered. A friend of mine stands on an empty wooden crate in his backyard to peer into his older sister's window when her girlfriends are visiting because she would often shoo him away. On one occasion, he discovered his fourteen-year old sister and her two best friends sharing a cigarette. Furnished with these details, he scurried into the kitchen to inform their mom. Because my friend and his sister were in trouble, I had to go straight home.
Ironically, concerned parents who purchase and install nanny cameras without informing their baby sitters are the same people who complain that the use of hidden security cameras in their place of work is an invasion of their privacy. Employers have always been able to distinguish between productive and inept employees by assessing their achievements. The same may not always be true in the case of childcare providers, child abuse takes many forms and is not always detectable, but why not let the nanny know? It will improve the performance of their duties. Installing a camera surveillance is a sure fire way to confirm any suspicions that you may have concerning your nanny and her behavior, if by chance you believe that she is a habitual child abuser, alcoholic or worse then a camera will help you confirm. Using a surveillance camera will save your child from harm sooner than if you would wait to catch a the babysitter in the act of harming your child.
Banks and Department stores have used security cameras for decades. Cameras provide an excellent source for arresting a prosecuting criminals of all sorts. The presence of the surveillance cameras is universally known, even to potential thieves. This type of security surveillance is reassuring to the general public. When it doesnt deter criminal activity, it makes catching the perpetrators easier. The utilization of surveillance cameras lately for home security reasons serves an identical purpose. Many homes that have alarm or video surveillance monitors will indicate this equipment by a sign on their front lawn. They know this will reduce the risk of vandalism and burglary.
There is a world of difference between camera surveillance that is overtly and effectively used for legitimate security purposes and the current obsession with hidden camera surveillance systems. Digital and technological advances have produced increasingly smaller and more affordable gadgets that some people just cant resist playing with. Do not peek into the keyhole aperture. Its wrong. Make sure to first knock on the door.