CCTV’s have been around since the 1940’s. According to Wikipedia, in the UK there are reportedly more cameras per person than in any other country. A company in the UK Internet Eyes is an online surveillance company where viewers can report any suspicious activity. The way it works is you pay either a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription and then you, the viewer, can alert the store if you see a theft. There is also a points system where each month the viewer with the most awarded points will receive £1000.There are people that seem to think there are privacy issues with these CCTV’s. I think it’s a great idea. The CCTV’s are located in public places so in reality there is no privacy there. Also, Internet Eyes makes you agree to their terms and conditions and you have to be in accordance with the Data Protection Acts therefore the actual footage won’t end up in the wrong hands or else they will probably face charges. Plus, really… who wants to watch people shopping or stealing something unless you're getting paid for it?
I do beleive that a surveillance team is needed to help stores control there inventory and safety in general, but Denise you need to think about the women at a lingerie store for example, how many deranged men are out there that enjoy just watching women. I wouldn't feel comfortable shopping somewhere where a stranger is staring at me the entire time, especially someone with no training who just needed a part time to stay home all day.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying but I would assume that the surveillance cameras are only for watching customers in a grocery store or buying products. I don't think that Internet Eyes are going to be spying on dressing rooms or bathrooms or anything like that. Especially since they are in their three month trial period and already have people against them. We are losing $4.88 billion a year on shoplifting and in the end we end up pay for it through taxes, insurance premiums, and high prices. Something must be done to make those figures go significantly down.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great idea as well, unless it were to end up in the wrong hands. The idea of being watched by strangers is not a new concept. Most stores you go into have surveillance cameras where you are being watched. The only difference here is that you are being watched by someone over the internet, as opposed to someone physically in the store. I think that as long as Internet Eyes is very strict about using the video footage strictly for surveillance purposes, they could e very successful.
ReplyDeleteWe are on the Internet era, so what could be better than watching shoplifter over the Internet and report them with just a click. I sure that this company have to improve the service after this first round to make it work perfect, and not letting pervert work their way out to spy on fitting room, etc, but I think this is a great idea to star fighting something that as well all know we have not able to stop with regular security officer. I still think that there should be both the cameras and the security person so that the person over the internet watching the shoplifter could have someone to prevent the theft a part from the regular authority. They could work together to not let the shoplifter go away.
ReplyDeleteI think that you all have a good point and agree with you on the fact that we do need surveillance cameras in public places like retail stores, grocery stores, and busy streets. Ofcourse they wouldn't put the cameras in bathrooms/fitting rooms, but you all forgot that like Ana said, we are in the Internet era, currently in the UK, monitor dataveillance. Which include your mobile phone triangulation, credit card transactions, satellites, phone tapping, keystroke programmes, even your mobile phone cameras to name a few. Scary huh, so even if Giselle decides not to physically go shopping at the lingerie store and shops online, there will still be a chance of unethical behavior from the viewers. Especially if they are sitting at home without supervision.
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