Evaluation of Public Surveillance Cameras

Schenectady

In 2007, serving as the research partner to a County-wide law enforcement task force, the Institute initiated the first phase of a process and outcome evaluation of the County’s Public Surveillance Camera Project (PSCP). The study included an outcome evaluation estimating the impact of the introduction of cameras on crime and disorder. Using a form of interrupted time series analysis (known as Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average [ARIMA] modeling), the effects of camera surveillance on crime and disorder were estimated. The study also included a key informant survey designed to assess the extent to which the cameras bear on citizens’ perceptions of safety and concerns regarding proper use of cameras. Institute staff provided regular feedback to key actors to guide mid-course corrections or modifications to the project, as needed. The Phase I project culminated in a monograph describing the program environment, a description of the phases of the project evolution, core program requirements, and findings from our analysis of crime and disorder reduction effects.

The following year (2008), the local Police Department and the Institute entered into an agreement to extend the Institute’s work on the PSCP. In Phase II the Institute conducted a process evaluation of the PSCP to assess the extent to which the project continued to develop and to identify new obstacles or outstanding issues yet to be resolved. The process evaluation drew primarily on interviews and regular attendance at PSCP meetings. The work and reports are designed to assist project stakeholders in providing an optimally effective system and to serve as a guide for others seeking to develop or improve their own camera initiatives.

Supported by the Schenectady Police Department [July, 2007 – June, 2009]

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Sarah J. McLean, Robert E. Worden, MoonSun Kim and Tara L. Garmley, 2008. Weston’s Public Surveillance Camera Project: A Process and Outcome Study.

Sarah J. McLean, Robert E. Worden and Tara L. Garmley, 2009. Weston’s Public Surveillance Camera Project: Phase II Process Evaluation.

Sarah J. McLean, Robert E. Worden & MoonSun Kim, 2013. “Here’s Looking at You: An Evaluation of Public CCTV Cameras and Their Effects on Crime and Disorder,” Criminal Justice Review 38: 303-334.

 

Syracuse

The Institute conducted an assessment of the City of Syracuse’s Criminal Observation and Protection System (COPS). The network of public surveillance cameras are placed in the city’s high-crime areas and are intended to serve as a deterrent to crime and disorder. The Institute’s evaluation design included estimating the magnitude of the intervention impacts on crime and disorder using an interrupted time series analysis applied in the intervention areas, defined buffer areas surrounding the intervention areas, and in control areas.

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Robert E. Worden, Sarah J. McLean, and MoonSun Kim, 2012. Camera Surveillance on the Near Westside: A Preliminary Evaluation.  Report to the Syracuse Police Department.  Albany, NY: John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety, Inc.

Sarah J. McLean, Robert E. Worden, and MoonSun Kim, 2013. Camera Surveillance on the Near Westside: An Outcome Evaluation.  Report to the Syracuse Police Department.  Albany, NY: John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety, Inc.