Law enforcement has been trying to find ways to apprehend criminals. Since policemen cannot be in all places at all the time, the arm of the law has been continually developing ways to monitor, observe, and record what goes on in their area of responsibility, hoping to catch a criminal in the act. This activity is called surveillance.



The rapid advancement of technology has given law enforcement the necessary tools in monitoring crime. These tools are efficient and have helped the police catch criminals. In fact, the presence or knowledge that that certain surveillance system is somewhere in the area makes criminals think twice before doing their despicable acts of lawlessness.

One of the most effective surveillance tools in use today is the CCTV camera. These cameras are placed outdoors, just out of sight from the public. They are the “extended eyes” of the law enforcements.

The first CCTV cameras used for monitoring public places were simple, obvious, and low definition. They show images only in black-and-white, and they don't have features such as zooming or panning.

Today's security camera systems, however, are small and inconspicuous. Despite their size, they can produce surprisingly high-definition color images. Not only that, they can also zoom and focus on minute details, such as, a vehicle's plate number, a person's face, an identifying mark, or, in the right circumstances, even a hidden weapon. Furthermore, when linked to a computer network, the camera can track objects and people. That means they can hone in on a movement across the vicinity where there is normally no movement. These high-tech devices can even focus on a suspicious person or object and follow him or it through a busy crowd. This makes it very hard for a criminal to escape. Because CCTVs can focus on a person's face, it is possible to verify his identity without the person himself knowing it.

Let's say a pickpocket grabbed a woman's purse and thought he got away. What he didn't know was that a CCTV was monitoring him, and the operator decided to focus on his face. The image was then run to a computer database where it was matched with thousands of pictures. In a few hours, the police may have a positive match, and if they do, it's off to jail for the pickpocket.

Of course, security camera systems sometimes fail in identification, but the technology is improving. In a few years, the identification system will be vastly improved.

Computerized CCTV monitoring technology is being developed and improved. With such an advanced system, an operator can observe more cameras without endlessly looking at the screen. Furthermore, the computer can be programmed to recognize particular body movements and facial expressions. Since criminals have rather unusual movements and expressions—nervousness before doing a crime, for example—they act subtly different from normal people in public. The system will be able to spot this and alert the operator, telling him or the police organization a possible indication or occurrence of a crime.