Fletcher Is CCTV Effective in Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour IJC August 2011

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)
IS CCTV EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?

By Philippa Fletcher1
Abstract It seems that currently there is very little literature or research evaluating the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing antisocial behaviour. As antisocial behaviour can be an antecedent to more serious crime it is important to know which initiatives are effective in reducing the likelihood of it occurring. CCTV is a situational crime prevention method, a way to design out crime (Newburn, T., 2007). As the statistics for levels of antisocial behaviour are readily available online and as CCTV has to be regulated the number and location of CCTV cameras are public knowledge the main body of the research had few ethical issues. Choosing CCTV as an initiative to research in relation to antisocial behaviour meant that information gathering was straightforward as it was completely anonymous; if an initiative such as the Antisocial Behaviour Order had been chosen there may have been more problems obtaining the information as the data may have contained personal details. The aim of the research was help to bridge the gap in knowledge in the area of the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing antisocial behaviour with the use of both primary and secondary sources. The results were startling, showing CCTV to have little impact on the level of antisocial behaviour in one area and the opposite in another area. The interview with the Blackpool CCTV Unit and research has highlighted some interesting factors as to why these results may have occurred.
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Lancaster University www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 1
Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr Rachel Armitage, Blackpool Council, the CCTV operators within the Blackpool CCTV Unit, the CCTV User Group and Martin Brownlow of the Fylde CCTV Unit for the information, time and support they have all provided, without which this research would not have been possible.
Table of Contents Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Table of Contents Table of Figures Table of Appendices Glossary of Abbreviations Introduction Research Question and Hypotheses Literature Review CCTV Antisocial Behaviour Theories Methodology Blackpool CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour St Annes CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour Blackpool CCTV Unit Interview Results Blackpool CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour St Annes CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour Blackpool CCTV Unit Interview Analysis and Discussion Blackpool CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour St Annes CCTV and Antisocial Behaviour Blackpool CCTV Unit Interview Conclusion References Appendices Page Number 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5
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Table of Figures Fig. I Types of antisocial behaviour Fig. II Tools to tackle antisocial behaviour Fig. III Panopticon Fig. IV Routine Activity Theory triangle Fig. V Results Table for Blackpool Fig. VI Results bar chart for Blackpool Fig. VII Results table for St Annes Fig. VIII Results bar chart for St Annes Fig. IX Interview with Blackpool CCTV operators Table of Appendices Appendix I Email correspondence with Dr Rachel Armitage Appendix II Legalities of CCTV Appendix III Email correspondence with Blackpool Borough Council Appendix IV CCTV locations in Blackpool Appendix V Email correspondence with Fylde CCTV Unit Appendix VI Email correspondence with Blackpool CCTV Unit to organise the interview Appendix VII An example of the documents used to obtain antisocial behaviour statistics from the Safer Lancashire website Pg. 41 Pg. 42-44 Pg. 45 Pg. 46 Pg. 47-52 Pg. 53 Pg. 9 Pg. 10-13 Pg. 13 Pg. 14 Pg. 23 Pg. 24 Pg. 25 Pg. 25 Pg. 26-28
Pg. 54
Glossary of Abbreviations ASB Anti-social behaviour ASBA03 Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 ASBO Anti-social Behaviour Order CCTV Closed circuit television CDA 98 Crime and Disorder 1998 CJS Criminal Justice Service DPA 98 Data Protection Act 1998 HRA 98 Human Rights Act 1998 LA Local Authority RAT Routine Activity Theory
Introduction This research will look into the relationship between antisocial behaviour and CCTV and whether CCTV is a useful tool in reducing antisocial behaviour, however it is difficult to discuss this topic without also relating the discussion to crime. CCTV has been common place in society for more than thirty years and although it is difficult to determine how much is actually spent on CCTV each year, the group Liberty suggest that the Home Office has spent a huge amount of its crime budget on CCTV over the last 15 years (http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/privacy/cctv-and-anpr/index.php). There are conflicting opinions as to the motivation for the introduction and mass implementation of CCTV, both benevolent and malevolent (http://www.doktorjon.co.uk/bygone%20days/historyofcctv1.html; http://www.kable.co.uk/cctv-cameras-councils-wandsworth-west-oxfordshire-23sep10). CCTV has come into the public eye during many high profile criminal investigations, the most famous of these being the CCTV images of John Venables and Robert Thompson leading Jamie Bulger away from the shopping arcade he was visiting with his mother (http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/bulger/1.html). A more relevant criminal investigation which used CCTV was the murder of Garry Newlove in August 2007; this case is more relevant as he was murdered whilst trying to prevent youths acting in an antisocial manner. The youths responsible for the death of Garry Newlove were caught on CCTV minutes before they beat Garry Newlove to death; CCTV which was installed in a private residence in response to the on-going and escalating levels of ASB in the area (Real Crime with Mark Austin, 2010; http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jan/16/ukcrime.haroonsiddique; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2kyT9NbXw). In the case of the murder of Garry Newlove, the presence of CCTV appears to have had no effect on the youths behaviour, the ASB continued and escalated to a more serious criminal offence. ASB is defined by the Home Office as a person or persons acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself (Crime and Disorder Act, 1998; http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/37/part/I/enacted). ASB was criminalised under the CDA98 with the introduction of many initiatives designed to reduce ASB and prevent the problems escalating from low level nuisance behaviour to more serious criminal offences (Newburn, T., 2007; McLaughlin, E. and Muncie, J., 2006).
Research Question and Hypotheses Will the presence of CCTV reduce the level of reported antisocial behaviour in that area? H1 - In areas where CCTV is present there will be fewer incidents of reported antisocial behaviour H2 - In areas where CCTV is present there will be more incidents of reported antisocial behaviour H0 - The presence of CCTV will not affect the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour and any effect found is down to coincidence or chance
Literature Review There is little research currently available regarding the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing ASB (Armitage, R., 2011, Appendix I). Although the concept of CCTV is not a new one, ASB in terms of criminality is a reasonably new concept, first introduced as a criminal offence under the CDA98 amended by the ASBA03 (Newburn, T., 2007; McLaughlin, E. and Muncie, J., 2006; http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/37/part/I/enacted ; http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/38/contents ). CCTV CCTV has many advantages and disadvantages, being described as both a malevolent and benevolent entity continually modernising in line with the modernisation of society. By 2007, Britain had approximately five million CCTV cameras, one for every twelve people; by far the largest number of cameras in the world (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1546673/CCTV-cameras-get-upgrade-at-policerequest.html). The sheer volume of CCTV cameras in Britain calls into question the freedom and privacy of society; is CCTV there to protect the public or are we living in a Big Brother surveillance society? The group Liberty find the existence and usage of CCTV to be an intrusion of societies privacy and a method of social control, with their main concern being the lack of regulation of CCTV; Marxist criminological theories can be seen to take a similar stance regarding the use of CCTV (http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/issues/3privacy/32-cctv/index.shtml; Rule, J., 1973). Norris et al (1998) also portray a negative view of CCTV, finding that CCTV control rooms were rife with sexism and racism, inferring that the incidents of ASB that are reported may be biased and some operatives may be more likely to report incidents which involve perpetrators of some ethnic minority groups or misinterpret innocent actions or behaviours of some minority groups (http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/cyberspace/graham_cctv_fifth_utility.pdf). Norris et al (1998) suggest that algorithmic surveillance is the next likely advancement to utilise CCTV more effectively. Algorithmic CCTV monitors a persons gait and can match both the gait and facial characteristics to footage and facial images stored in a database, preventing perpetrators hiding from CCTV cameras; even if the face is hidden the concept is that the persons gait can be recognised and then matched to a name or a face in the database. The work done by Norris et al (1998) is now a little dated and with the accusation of the police and wider CJS being institutionally racist by the Macpherson Report (1999), all CJS staff, including CCTV operators, have to be careful that their judgements are objective and
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not based on their own bias or schema. With the supposed eradication of the canteen culture it will be interesting to see whether the same attitudes are shown in the Blackpool CCTV control room when the interview takes place (Joyce, P., 2006; Newburn, T., 2006; Newburn, T., 2007; Reiner, R., 2000). Although the canteen culture of CJS workers has been altered by reports such as the Macpherson Report (1999), Norris et al (1998) were quite accurate with their opinion of the likely advancement of CCTV. Smart CCTV has been implemented in tube stations, although it does not share all of the characteristics of algorithmic CCTV it does have some similar features such as facial recognition, the ability to read body language and recognise patterns of behaviour which may indicate the intention of suicide, crime or ASB (http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/general/ethicol/Ecv12no1.html; http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/privacy/cctv-and-anpr/index.php). Smart CCTV may be a useful technological advancement, but it does come with a price. In trials of the systems it has been found that the accuracy rate of facial recognition is not high enough, leaving some people open to harassment by the police if the software wrongly identifies them. The system has to be used responsibly and has many possible uses for the future such as scanning crowds for missing people. Although the technology can be used for benevolent means there are concerns about personal liberty and privacy (http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/general/ethicol/Ecv12no1.html). Currently there is no regulation surrounding the installation of private CCTV, so private households can install and use CCTV equipment without registering it with the appropriate regulatory body or adhering to any of the regulations dictated in the DPA98. CCTV installed by organisations does however have to follow strict legal requirements and guidelines outlined in the DPA98, such as the visibility of appropriate signage to make the public aware that they are entering an area covered by CCTV (http://www.cctv-dataprotection.info/legal1/ ; Appendix II).
Antisocial Behaviour As mentioned in the introduction ASB is defined by the Home Office as a person or persons acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself (Crime and Disorder Act, 1998; http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/37/part/I/enacted) covering many actions and behaviours that the legislation classifies as ASB. If a person continues to act in an antisocial manner over a period of time the perpetrator can be given an ASBO, which if broken can lead to a criminal conviction. Some of the behaviours categorised as ASB are outlined in the table below.
Fig I Examples Intimidation/threats by neighbours Minor violence Hoax telephone calls Vandalism directed towards individuals or groups Serious verbal abuse Anti-social behaviour Dog fouling Environmental that intentionally Setting fire to rubbish anti-social behaviour or through Fly tipping carelessness Littering damages the Noise nuisance local environment Graffiti Abandoned vehicles Anti-social behaviour Intimidating behaviour, Anti-social behaviour that due to either physically or usually by groups restricting the use threatening obstructive of youths of shared spaces behaviour prevents The use of drugs in people from using public places shared spaces, such as Drinking on the street parks, for what the Drunken behaviour places were intended on the street Soliciting Kerb-crawling Inconsiderate or obstructive use of vehicles Adapted from Newburn, T (2007) Criminology (pg 733), source Millie et al (2005). Many initiatives have been introduced to try to reduce ASB, other than the ASBO. The initiatives have given police, local authorities and the general population more power to deal with ASB. The table below outlines some of these and which authorities the initiatives benefit. Category Interpersonal/malicious anti-social behaviour Description Anti-social behaviour directed at certain individuals or groups
Fig II What it is When it should be used A voluntary agreement between an When an offender has been caught committing individual and one or more local low levels of anti-social agencies, which outlines what the behaviour or a warning has been given offender can and cannot do. and not addressed the problem. These agencies include the police, local authorities and youth offending teams Civil orders, applicable to anyone aged When an offender is causing harm, Anti-social ten or over, to protect the public from behaviours harassment or distress to people behaviour orders (ASBOs) that are causing alarm, harassment or other than those within the distress, or are likely to cause offenders household or if the those feelings offender has behaved in an anti-social manner an ASBO can be imposed to protect the public from further anti-social behaviour Agreements reached between the When there is conflict or dispute Community residents of a neighbourhood to either within a community. This can include agreements resolve arguments or outline how they sheltered housing communities, a would like life to be. Individuals street, a block of flats or even a have copies of this in their homes and they can work place also be displayed in public places A senior police officer can issue a When a property is taken over by Crack house closure notice on a property that they people selling or using Class A closure orders believe is being used for the drugs. The property can be closed production, use or sale of Class A swiftly, preventing further negative drugs. They must apply to the courts impact on a community within 48 hours for a closure order, which can last up to a maximum of 6 months. Anyone in or entering the property during this period is committing a criminal offence Allow social landlords to reduce the When a tenant or one of their Demotion orders security of a tenants tenancy. This visitors is acting in a manner that will can includes the removal of the right to cause a nuisance/annoyance to other buy and the right to exchange. residents or has threatened to do so The police having the right to disperse When there is an ongoing problem Dispersal powers intimidating groups within an area of anti-social behaviour, causing previously identified as having anxiety/distress to the public. Any persistent anti-social behaviour age group can be targeted by this tool problems. The police can also ban people from the area for 24 hours The help can take the form of When an entire family is persistently Family residential accommodation or showing anti-social behaviour. intervention outreach support teams, to aid a family This can be used when there have projects who have consistently behaved in been a number of complaints about an anti-social manner, change their a certain family and the impact behaviour. of their behaviour on the community Tool Acceptable behaviour contracts (Appendix V) (ABCs)
Fixed penalty notices (FPNs) Gating orders
Individual support orders (ISOs)
Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions (ASBIs)
Intervention orders (IOs) Noise abatement notices
Parenting programmes
Parenting contracts
They are usually given for anti-social behaviour of an environmental nature, such as noise and fly-tipping If a highway of alley suffers from c rime, such as an alley being used to complete drug deals Can last up to 6 months and can be Magistrates are obliged to attach used alone or in conjunction with these to ASBOs if it would have an ASBO. They contain positive obligations a desirable effect in the prevention of which aim to tackle the underlying reoffending and anti-social behaviour, the causes of the anti-social behaviour person is not already subject to one and the person is between the ages of 10 and 17 Civil orders that can be obtained When someone is committing from the county court that prohibit the anti-social behaviour such as verbal person concerned from taking part abuse of staff, other residents or in the behaviours detailed in the residents visitors and noise nuisance, injunction when a swift resolution to provide immediate protection is needed These can only be attached to The person must be 18 years of ASBOs and are designed to age or older and a court is satisfied tackle anti-social behaviour that that the anti-social behaviour is a result is a result of drug use of drug use/misuse Restricts or prohibits the noise nuisance The notice is given if a formal occurrence or reoccurrence. Some notices investigation finds there is a carry a person to carry out steps to stop noise nuisance. The notice can be the noise nuisance, such as the deferred being given for 7 days if the removal of equipment feeling is that mediation would be more productive. After the 7 day period has lapsed, the notice must be served if the person refuses to stop or reduce the nuisance noise or the local authority is satisfied that the problem will continue A programme that teaches parents This could be offered when a problem techniques to improve their childs is first identified, such as when the behaviour over a period of time, usually child is given a first warning. 8 to 13 weeks. There are a number of They are, however, usually tacked organisations that are involved in this on to a parenting contract or including the school the NHS and parenting order youth offending teams Voluntary agreements between the When parents need to take action to individuals parents and local agencies, reduce the problem behaviour of such as the local education authority their child and the youth offending team
One off fines, that can be issued to anyone 10 years of age or older, to tackle low level nuisance behaviour The installation of gates to prevent or reduce anti-social behaviour
Parenting orders
Can be made by criminal, family or county court, when there has been a problem with a young persons behaviour. Failure to comply can lead to a fine.
Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs)
On the spot fines for low level disorder offences, issued by the police or police community support officers
If an ASBO has been made a court must either make a parenting order or explain why they have not; if a youth offending team applies to the court when a child has engaged in criminal or anti-social behaviour; if a local education authority applies to the court regarding the parents of a child who has been either excluded from school for two fixed periods or permanently The person must be 16 years of age or older and the offence must be specific offences, including throwing fireworks, criminal damage under 500 and being drunk and disorderly.
Adapted from http://www.respect.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=10088
Theories CCTV has been used in the UK for more than thirty years, but the concept of surveillance on this scale goes back much further. The Panopticon is a prison design, proposed by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) where the guard tower is in a central position with the cells positioned so that the guard in the tower can view any of the prisoners at any time yet the prisoners cannot see into the guard tower; the prisoners never know whether they are being watched as shown in the diagram below (Newburn, T., 2010; Quinn, M., 2001; http://www.cartome.org/panopticon1.htm; http://www.cartome.org/foucault.htm)
Fig III
Source http://www.aroundtheinterwebs.com/wp-content/uploads/panopticon01.jpg The aim of the Panopticon Prison design was to make prisoners regulate their own behaviour; because they do not know whether they are being watched the prisoners do not
know whether they will be punished for inappropriate or prohibited behaviour. Eventually there would be no need to have a guard in the tower at all times as the prisoners would regulate their own behaviour (Foucault, M., 1975).
The Panopticon is the temple of reason, a temple luminous and transparent in every sense: first because there are no shadows and nowhere to hide: it is open to constant surveillance by the invisible eye; but also, because totalitarian mastery of the environment excludes everything irrational: no opacity can withstand the logic (Miller, J.-A., 1987, pg. 6-7).
The United Kingdom, as a whole, is aware of the use of CCTV in general and CCTV cameras are advertised. The results found within the Panopticon would suggest that because the population is aware that it is being watched society should police its own behaviour; in relation to this research that would suggest that areas covered by CCTV should experience less problems such as ASB (McLaughlin, E. and Muncie, J., 2006). RAT is an environmental criminological theory (Newburn, T., 2007), designed by Cohen and Felson (1979) and states that three things need to occur in the same place at the same time for crime to occur; the theory can be related to ASB as well as crime as ASB was criminalised under the CDA98 with the introduction of the ASBO. The three prerequisites for ASB to occur can be shown in the format of a triangle, as shown below; Fig IV Suitable target
A likely and motivated offender
Lack of a capable guardian
A suitable target can be a person, a place or an object, yet no matter how suitable the target crime or ASB will not occur without the lack of a capable guardian and the presence of an offender. A capable guardian usually refers to a person or persons who are present at the time and whose presence alone would be enough to deter a likely offender. A capable guardian can, however, refer to something with a human element, such as a CCTV camera with someone monitoring it. The concept of CCTV as a capable guardian is amplified in relation to the advances in CCTV technology, such as talking CCTV where the person monitoring the camera can verbally interact with the person being watched. RAT can be linked to the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing ASB since ASB was criminalised under the under New Labour governmental rule with the introduction of the
ASBO under a CDA98 initiative. The same circumstances need to occur at the same time for ASB to be possible as need to occur for conventional crime to possible. CCTV as a capable guardian should, according to RAT, reduce the likelihood of ASB occurring. Wilson and Kelling (1982) Broken Window theory suggests that if you do not fix a problem within the community immediately, the wider community feel that the problem is being ignored and the community is not cared for so the problem grows. CCTV is one way to stop low level nuisance behaviour, such as ASB, to something more serious. If CCTV is present the area is being watched, denoting that someone does care about the area and will react if uncivil or inappropriate behaviour is occurring. Felson, M. (1994) outlines a cost-benefit analysis that offenders make prior to committing a crime or ASB. Rational actor theory states that prior to committing an offence the likely offender analyses the cost of committing the act against the benefits of committing the act. In reference to whether CCTV is effective in reducing ASB the presence of CCTV would be a cost, increasing the likelihood of the perpetrator being seen committing the act and then identified after the act had been committed. If the perpetrator identified CCTV as a cost the likelihood that the small level of gratification, the benefit, that would be gained from committing the act would be heavily outweighed by the cost of an increased risk of being caught and identified. Although rational actor theory does suggest that CCTV should increase the likelihood of an offender being seen and identified, the cost of being caught committing ASB is usually minimal. The penalties for ASB are much lower than those for conventional crime so the benefit may actually outweigh the cost in the offenders opinion, so in this situation CCTV would not reduce the likelihood of ASB occurring (Newburn, T., 2007). Surveillance, such as CCTV can also be seen as a tool to reclaim and improve the aesthetics of urban space and to remove the non-performing members of the public; nonperforming referring to those who do not contribute to society or follow the norms and values defined by the ruling class, in todays society, the middle class (Coleman, R., 2004). For an area to be considered aesthetically pleasing the behaviours that are likely to be witnessed in the area should be morally acceptable, making over-exuberant behaviour by youths, begging and public drunkenness unacceptable in this ideal. The ASBA03 can be linked to the reclaiming and rehabilitation of urban space. The use of CCTV and the ASBA03 together can be seen as both monitoring and controlling urban space. This stance on the use of CCTV and the ASBA03 highlights class based concerns, with much emphasis on the nonperforming members of society such as the non-performing homeless, non-performing youth and non-performing working class youth (Coleman, R., 2004). Charles Murray (1990) highlighted the issue of class related anxieties with his underclass theory. The theory suggests, consistent with a right realist stance that people need to take responsibility for their own action, defining two types of working class or poor people; the non-performers or dangerous class and the working class who behave in line with the norms and values of society but are on a low income. Those who fall into the former class are those that Coleman, R. (2004) refers to in relation to class based concerns that can be monitored and controlled by combining the use of CCTV and the ASBA03 (Coleman, R., 2004; Newburn, T., 2007). The main critique of all of the theories used to show that CCTV should be effective in reducing ASB is that none of the theories were designed with ASB in mind, and although ASB has been criminalised the penalties are generally relatively minor in comparison to
those for most conventional criminal acts. The behaviours that fall under the category of ASB are really no more, in general, than incivilities and lack of consideration for others; noise nuisance for example is not a conventional crime, it is rarely aimed at a specific victim and many things can be considered noise nuisance that prior to the CDA98 and the ASBA03 would have just been accepted as an everyday annoyance.
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Methodology The research consisted of the use of primary research, secondary research and research that could be considered both. The interview with the Blackpool CCTV operator (Fig IX) was the primary source of date, the information from Fylde CCTV Unit (Appendix V) was secondary data and the data portrayed in Figs V and VI was gathered from secondary sources, but the data was not provided in the format required. The data used in Figs V and VI was gathered from several sources, as outlined below, and collated to make an analysis possible, making it difficult to define whether the data was primary or secondary. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods and data were used. Although each of the research methods used has its own advantages and disadvantages both qualitative and quantitative data sources were used with the aim of giving the research an element of triangulation which should improve the reliability of the research and the validity and ecological validity of the results. The data shown in the results section consisted of an analysis of available statistics, procured from Blackpool Council (Appendix III), Blackpool CCTV Unit (Appendix IV) and Fylde CCTV Unit (Appendix V) and a semi-structured interview with a Blackpool CCTV operator and the operators manager working in the Blackpool CCTV Unit control room (Appendix VI). Blackpool CCTV and ASB (Fig V and VI) The information used for this section of analysis was quantitative data, with several secondary sources being consulted to gather the data which was then analysed to establish new primary data, increasing the objectivity of the research and results. The information used for the statistical analysis was difficult to obtain as several different sources had to be consulted. The first step was to obtain information regarding the number of reports of ASB there were in each area over a twelve month period. The information was gathered from the Safer Lancashire website, where the information was divided into individual Wards within the Blackpool area (Appendix VII). To then assess the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing the number of incidents of ASB details of the CCTV camera locations in the Blackpool area were required. The information of the locations of the CCTV cameras in Blackpool was obtained from Blackpool CCTV Unit (Appendix IV), unfortunately this information was not split into Wards but individual streets so it was necessary to contact Blackpool Council to find out which streets fell into which Wards (Appendix III). Once all of this information was obtained it was possible to work out how many cameras were located in each Ward in Blackpool and then compare the number of incidents of ASB to the saturation of CCTV cameras in the area. There were no ethical implications or issues with gathering this information as all of the information was available to the general public, contacting the individual agencies to clarify the details needed, such as the locations of the CCTV cameras and the Ward the streets with cameras fell under, was merely a way to speed up the information gathering process as it was difficult and time consuming to find independently. One of the advantages of using the information that was chosen was the validity and legitimacy of the sources. The details of the number of incidents of ASB in each Ward came from police recorded crime statistics; the source was official and legitimate, increasing the legitimacy and validity of the results. The information was also provided in a descriptive format making the translation of this information into a comparative table straightforward. The main disadvantage of using police recorded crime statistics was that the numbers only show a portion of the true figure, so may not be accurate in this sense. The comparison could
be made between the number of incidents of ASB reported to the police in a Ward and the saturation of CCTV coverage, but this may not uncover the true number of incidents of ASB as many incidents go unreported for a variety of reasons, such as fear of reprisal, the belief that nothing would be done if the incident was reported and the lack of understanding of both the initiatives and tools available to deal with ASB and which behaviours fall into the category of ASB. On the same note there could be incidents of what someone may consider ASB that have been included in this information that would not actually constitute ASB. The missing data with reference to the number of incidents if ASB is often referred to as the dark number or iceberg effect (Newburn, T., 2007). To combat this for national quarterly and annual figures the Home Office also takes into consideration the British Crime Survey, a victim survey (Newburn, T., 2007), but the data tables on the Safer Lancashire website clearly state that it is only calls to the police that have been included in the data, which leaves not only a gap in knowledge considering the unreported incidents but also a gap in knowledge regarding the incidents that are reported to other agencies such as Housing Associations and local councils; Blackpool Coastal Housing, a Housing Association in Blackpool have a specific ASB team who deal with reports from or about tenants who are perpetrators or victims of ASB , suggesting the number amount of missing data may be much higher (http://www.saferlancashire.co.uk/2011/yourarea/table_view/table-ward-rolling20081231.asp; http://www.bch.co.uk/antisocialbehaviour/) The fact that the information was already available from an official source negates the possibility of researcher bias in gathering this information as the numbers of incidents of ASB in a Ward were transferred verbatim from the details on the Safer Lancashire website to Fig V and VI. The only bias that could possibly occur, other than the above mentioned possible misinterpretation of ASB by the public, is the bias of the police officer or agency taking the report; if the person taking the report of the incident did not feel that the incident constituted ASB then it may not be included as such in the statistics (Newburn, T., 2007). The research having been conducted in the manner it was for this section means the same information could easily be gathered for other areas and analysed in the same manner, making the hypotheses testable anywhere else in the country so increasing the reliability of the research and the validity and generalisability of the results (Newburn, T., 2007). The information regarding the location of the CCTV cameras was not problematic either, this was factual information about where each camera was located, raising no ethical issues or any issues of validity. The information came from an official source, the CCTV Unit in Blackpool, for whom up to date knowledge of the locations of the CCTV cameras was integral for the running of the unit. The information procured from Blackpool Council regarding the Ward in which each street fell into was also unproblematic, again raising no ethical issues or validity issues as the information was freely available to the general public and was factual (Newburn, T., 2007). There was no issue regarding researcher bias in the documentation of the two sets of results as the information from the Safer Lancashire website only had to be copied as it stood on the website and the information for the saturation of CCTV cameras in each Ward just involved looking at the camera locations, linking the street the camera was located on to the relevant Ward using the information provided by the council and adding up the number of cameras in each Ward. Although there were no ethical issues as such with the information provided by the CCTV Unit in Blackpool and Blackpool Borough Council, the individuals providing the information were informed that their contribution could be withdrawn at any
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time if they wished and if they required a copy of the finished research this could be provided to them. St Annes CCTV and ASB (Fig VII and VIII) The data used in this section of the research was quantitative and came from a secondary source making the data mostly objective, although as mentioned a little later, some analysis had already been done so some of the document used could be considered subjective. The information gathered for the St Annes area was done by contacting Fylde CCTV Unit and explaining the purpose of the research. Fylde CCTV Unit were happy to provide some information and sent the documentation via email (Appendix V). The information for the St Annes area was gathered to use as a comparison to the results for the Blackpool area as St Annes is located a matter of minutes by car from Blackpool and St Annes is also located on the coast and is a popular tourist location. The aim was to compare the two towns as they share similar traits; the area the towns are located and the coastal resort status of both towns, to see if the results showed similar trends with the intention of increasing the reliability, validity and generalisability of the research process and results. The information regarding the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing ASB available for St Annes differs slightly to the information available for Blackpool. The details of the number of incidents of ASB were not split into Wards in St Annes and no information was provided detailing the number of cameras in an area, but the information did include details of the number of incidents of ASB before and after the installation and activation of CCTV cameras, making a direct comparison of the two variables straightforward. There were minimal ethical implications to consider with the collection of this data, however as with the research for the Blackpool area, the individual providing the data was informed that their contribution could be withdrawn at any time and if required a copy of the finished research could be provided to them. The only difference with the ethical implications for the information gathered for St Annes was that it was not made clear whether the information provided by Fylde CCTV Unit was in the public domain, but as the aim of the research and the purpose of the research was explained it seemed unlikely that a professional working in that field would provide information or documentation for the purpose of research that should not become part of the public domain. The information gathered for St Annes was already in a comparative table format, with descriptive statistics, which again were transferred verbatim into the results section of this research for analysis. The information had already been analysed and conclusions drawn from the data as a part of the document that was sent. The main complication with the analysis and conclusion already being completed in the document was that those sections of the document may influence the analysis for this research, leading to a higher probability of researcher bias which could lead to the data not being fully critiqued. As this was noticed immediately upon viewing the document, every effort has been made to ensure this did not happen and that the data was analysed objectively. As with the data gathered for Blackpool (Fig V and VII), the data gathered for St Annes only includes information regarding the number of incidents of ASB which were reported to the police, once again possibly missing a large number of incidents through the
iceberg effect. As with Blackpool, Fylde Borough Council also deal with reports of ASB so many reports made to Fylde Borough Council may be missing from the data held (http://www.fylde.gov.uk/community-services/community-safety/anti-social-behaviourpledge/?textonly=1).
Blackpool CCTV Unit Interview (Fig IX) The semi-structured interview was qualitative and a case study as only one was conducted, leaving the data gathered more open to subjectivity which may be reflected in the results. The qualitative data, however, gave the research an element of triangulation so increasing the validity and reliability of the findings. As all of the questions asked were documented the same interview could take place with a CCTV operator and their manager in any other geographical area increasing the reliability of the research and validity of the results. The interview also added to the knowledge of the uses and implications of CCTV which may not have been uncovered by simply using statistical data and some of the information provided during this was factual making the interview both subjective and objective. The semi-structured interview with a Blackpool CCTV operator and the operators manager was arranged with the manager through telephone conversations and email correspondence. The manager made it clear that the use of a Dictaphone or any recording equipment to document the interview was not acceptable, making the recording of the information problematic; the interviewee could talk faster than the interviewer could write. The manager and operator were both given an open and candid briefing of the purpose of the research, the aim of the research and how the information was going to be used (shown at the beginning of Fig IX). The operator and manager were given contact details so that if any point either participant wanted to withdraw the information provided that would be possible and so if a copy of the completed report was required either participant could request one. The interview was the most difficult section of the data gathered to analyse as it was necessary to look at the themes running through the interviewees answers rather than just the simple comparison of numbers. Another issue with regard to the results gathered from the interview was that the manager of the CCTV Unit was present for the interview, leaving the question as to whether the answers given by the operator would have been different had the manager not been there. This may impact the validity of the results of the interview.
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Results ASB and CCTV Results for Blackpool 2009-2010 The table below outlines the number of CCTV cameras in each Ward in Blackpool and the number of reported incidents of ASB. The population of each Ward has been included for information purposes. Fig V Number of Reports of Anti-Social Behaviour 6578 0 312 Anchorsholme 6155 0 252 Bispham 7313 14 2392 Bloomfield 7322 58 1368 Brunswick 7555 5 2523 Claremont 6918 1 1043 Clifton 6933 1 485 Greenlands 7073 0 683 Hawes Side 6440 0 390 Highfield 6595 0 806 Ingthorpe 6977 2 589 Layton 6654 1 474 Marton 6389 0 258 Norbreck 7001 3 1064 Park 6455 1 424 Squires Gate 6402 0 299 Stanley 6880 50 2517 Talbot 7067 0 577 Tyldesley 6671 2 850 Victoria 6747 0 531 Warbreck 6979 5 637 Waterloo N.B. Where CCTV camera locations are on the junction of or cover two wards the camera has been counted once in each ward it covers. Sources: Blackpool Borough Council (Appendix III), Blackpool CCTV Unit (Appendix IV), http://www.saferlancashire.co.uk/2011/yourarea/index.asp (Appendix VII) Blackpool Ward Population Number of CCTV Cameras in Place
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Fig VI The bar chart below shows the information in Fig V in a graphical format to simplify the comparison of the saturation of CCTV and the number of reported incidents of ASB
The indication of the results gathered for the Blackpool area outlined in Fig.V and VI indicate that there is no relationship, whether causal or correlative, between the saturation of CCTV cameras in an area and the levels of reported ASB.
ASB and CCTV Results for St Annes The table below outlines the number of incidents of ASB that occurred in a twelve month period prior to the installation of CCTV (2007/2008) and the number of incidents of ASB that occurred in the twelve month period after the installation of CCTV (2009/2010) in St Annes.
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Fig VII Year Reported incidents of ASB 2007/2008 (Pre CCTV) 560 2009/2010 (Post CCTV) 305
For the purposes of comparison the following types of offences have been grouped together under the bracket of ASB in Fig VII using the information in Fig I which was adapted from Newburn, T (2007) Criminology (pg. 733), source Millie et al (2005);- criminal damage, vehicle crime, public order, rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour, suspicious circumstances, street drinking and begging. The bar chart below shows the information in Fig VII in a graphical format to simplify the comparison of the number of reported incidents of ASB pre and post the introduction of CCTV in St Annes. Fig VIII
The indication of the results for St Annes is that the installation and activation of CCTV cameras has reduced the number of incidents of ASB.
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Interview with CCTV Operators at Blackpool CCTV Unit on 27/01/2011 at 15:30 Fig IX Briefing prior to the interview The aim of this research is to try to assess the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing antisocial behaviour. You have the right to withdraw your comments at any time during this research. I will leave you with contact information so if you wish to withdraw you can contact me and the information provided will be excluded from the write up of the research. You will not be named in the write up of the research and only be referred to as a participant.
Questions asked What role do you feel you play in the reduction of antisocial behaviour and the wider criminal justice system? Do you find CCTV is used more for the prosecution or defence of perpetrators? Do you feel CCTV is of more use for the prevention of antisocial behaviour or the apprehension and prosecution of offenders? Are all of the incidents of antisocial behaviour witnessed by the CCTV operators referred on to the police to be included in their statistics? Is the role of a CCTV operator a multi-skilled job? Are you aware of any advancement in the CCTV technology in the pipeline?
Responses The role is varied The unit provides a public service, although most people are unaware of the role of the CCTV Unit and its staff The CCTV Unit liaises with the police, fire brigade, ambulance service, Housing Associations and private businesses with information being shared freely and quickly so incidents of ASB and crime can be recognised and dealt with quickly The talking CCTV in Blackpool Town Centre allows operators to warn people committing low level ASB that they are being monitored, which has one of two effects; the behaviour either stops and the perpetrators disperse from the area or they carry on and the operator would contact the relevant agency One of the operators main roles is to look for trigger behaviours that are likely to lead to further or higher levels of ASB or criminal acts and nip the problem in the bud Very low level antisocial behaviour such as littering is not often intervened in with the talking CCTV as the operators are highly aware that due to general ignorance about what the CCTV is for it can attract negative responses. To intervene in such a low level offence would
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increase public negativity towards the system and operators and managers want to emphasise the positive side to CCTV rather than the negative It is about a fifty-fifty split as to whether CCTV is used for the prosecution or defence It is about a fifty-fifty split as to whether CCTV is preventative or reactive. There has recently been a camera installed at the Lytham Road and Waterloo Road junction [in Blackpool] and the shop owners in that area have verbally commented that the problem behaviours have reduced significantly. The same occurred when CCTV was first installed on Central Drive [a known problem area in Blackpool]and the elderly began to venture out and sit on the benches and wave to the cameras, until then they had not felt safe to leave their homes You also have to take into consideration the time of year, when the weather is bad there are fewer instances of antisocial behaviour and crime witnessed by the operators. The agency the incident is reported to depends on the type of incident and where it occurs. For example there are cameras covering Queens Park Estate high rise flats [Housing Association properties owned by Blackpool Coastal Housing] and because there is a security guard working at certain times of the day and night things are reported to him. An example of this would be if someone was seen urinating in the lifts [there are CCTV cameras in all of the lifts on the estate] the security guard would be notified and it would be left for him to deal with No matter the level of the incident there is always some intervention or action taken, whether it is reminding someone they are being monitored, referring the information on to the relevant agencies or tracking someone through the streets until the police or another agency can reach the scene Operatives must know all of the camera numbers and where they are located and often have to be tracking someone and giving details to the police so it is a multi-skilled role. The CCTV Unit has two-way radio communication with the police so can alert the police to incidents and direct them to the scene. The job also requires a skilled operator to be able to spot the trigger behaviours and spot things at night. Things are easy for the untrained eye to miss at night. For example there was a fight taking place in the [Blackpool] bus station and one of the operators spotted a handgun being drawn. When the police reviewed the footage they missed it. It turned out to be a replica but it shows how important it is for someone to be skilled in the area There have been many advancements, there is a software programme that can take an image of an area and then if anything is missing alert the operators to this, such as if a fire extinguisher went missing it could be used for criminal activities or could have been stolen. There is also voice and motion activated CCTV. The voice activated CCTV uses software that recognises aggressive shouting and then activates and alerts an operator to the area. Blackpool CCTV Unit were asked to trial some of the new software but [we] would rather have a clearer picture than new technology. The new technology cannot take away the need for personal judgement. With Blackpool being a transient town and hosting events such as the Punk Festival there are times when the software would cause more problems than it would solve. During the Punk Festival there are a lot of police on the streets containing the event so things that may be picked up as ASB by the software would not necessarily need picking up as the situation is already being monitored. The qualitative data gathered from the interview portrays CCTV in a very positive light and one of the strongest themes running through the interviewee responses was the idea that CCTV is a useful tool for reducing ASB, crime and the fear of victimisation.
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Analysis and Discussion Blackpool Analysis Figs V and VI There are several explanations for the data in Figs V and VI other than the obvious explanation that CCTV has no effect on the levels of ASB. Probably the most important alternative explanation for the results is the population of the area as Blackpool is a tourist town with a high turnover of seasonal workers and tourists (http://www.visitblackpool.com/xsdbimgs/131_10_Regeneration_Strategy.pdf). Blackpool has been a popular tourist result since the Victorian era, but unlike then, when it was popular with the middle class for family holidays, Blackpool is now a popular destination for tourists primarily interested in the night time economy, which often leads to partaking in excessive amounts of alcohol (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/seaside_01.shtml; http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8035760). Alcohol has a disinhibiting effect making people more likely to do things and take risks they normally would not whilst under the influence of alcohol. The disinhibiting effect of alcohol increases the likelihood that a person would act in an uncivil or antisocial manner, immediately increasing the number of incidents of ASB. The higher the number of incidents of ASB the more likely that the ASB would be reported. As those under the influence of alcohol are unlikely to be aware of or look for CCTV in the area they are in, CCTV will not deter any ASB under these conditions. Blackpool has a high transient population, with a high turnover of both seasonal workers and those who have left their home town and come to live in Blackpool for a better life or to get away from problems in their home town. Seasonal workers know that their stay in Blackpool will only be for a period of months and those who are coming to escape problems at home or to find a better life often already have social and psychological problems. The transient population increases the population density, almost doubling it during the season; the period between March and November (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icpr/publications/Licensing_Blackpool.pdf). If you combine this with a high level of excessive drinking there is likely to be a higher level of ASB. The transient population of Blackpool may also cause a higher level of ASB as there is little social capital or social cohesion as the population of an area is constantly changing, often with the population of that area, seasonal workers in particular, knowing that they are not going to be in an area for a prolonged period, so make no real effort to get to know their neighbours, nor to care about their community. The afore mentioned situation can leave a community vulnerable to ASB, as Broken Window Theory suggests, if an area has the appearance that no one cares about it offenders will assume that any unacceptable behaviour will be ignored (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=314;Wilson and Kelling, 1982). The transient population who are aware that Blackpool will only be a temporary residence are less likely to alter their behaviour according to the likelihood of their behaviour being monitored. As mentioned previously, offenders, whether in relation to crime or ASB, make a cost benefit analysis before committing an act of ASB or crime. If the offender, a rational actor is aware that they are leaving the area in the near future the cost of being caught is likely to factor less for them than the benefit of the instant gratification of the act (Felson, M., 1994). The saturation level of CCTV in certain areas in Blackpool could also explain the high levels of reported ASB; if the CCTV is monitored ASB is reported to the relevant authority.
CCTV may actually increase the reporting of ASB, in turn increasing the recorded levels of ASB in areas with a higher density or number of CCTV cameras, inferring that the levels of ASB in areas covered by CCTV may not actually be higher, just more visible and more likely to be reported. ASB may be underreported in areas without CCTV for many reasons such as community apathy regarding the situation and the fear of repercussion. CCTV ensures that ASB can be reported without the fear of repercussions and will be reported so apathy will not be an issue as the CCTV operator is being paid to report any incidents (Newburn, T., 2007). Another contributing factor to ASB that has not been considered which may explain the erratic results is for the Blackpool area is that Blackpool is one of the most deprived areas in the North West of England, with high levels of poverty and social problems. Poverty, economic problems and social problems can lead to poor social capital and low levels of social cohesion, many areas experiencing these problems do experience higher levels of ASB than more affluent areas (http://www.imd.communities.gov.uk/; Newburn, T., 2007). One of the main flaws of the Figs V and VI is that the statistics only look at the levels of ASB in relation to the saturation of CCTV in the area; this information may not be very transparent in relation to the research question. It would have been more useful and it may have been easier to generalise the results and the research and results may have been more valid if it had been possible to collect data before and after the installation of CCTV. This was not possible for the results for the Blackpool area as CCTV has been commonplace in Blackpool for more than a decade and as ASB was not criminalised or prioritised until the CDA98 if it had been possible to gather information prior to the installation of CCTV there would be little likelihood that ASB would have been categorised and recorded as such.
St Annes Analysis Figs VII and VIII The information gathered from the information provided for the St Annes area has an important factor that we need to keep in mind whilst discussing the results. The details of the numbers of incidents in an area were not categorised under the term ASB, but split into actual types of offence, which may lead to the statistics showing some level of researcher bias, as to be able to compare the results with those of the Blackpool area the types of incident have been grouped into ASB according to the researchers own interpretation of the definition of ASB using the information in Fig I. The number of incidents of ASB have not been split into Wards within St Annes either, in turn meaning the results can only be compared to the results for Blackpool in an anecdotal sense. We can, however, look at year on year statistics for the St Annes area in a more direct manner to the research question than we could with the Blackpool statistics as the CCTV cameras in St Annes were only became active on 1st September 2009; prior to that there was no permanent CCTV covering the St Annes area and Fylde CCTV Unit provided statistics for both before and after the activation of CCTV (Appendix V). The results indicated that CCTV was effective in reducing levels of ASB and the information provided (Appendix V) by Fylde CCTV Unit notes that there were no other crime prevention or reduction strategies implemented in St Annes at the time. The decrease in the level of ASB and the lack of other strategies strongly suggests that solely the implementation of CCTV reduced the levels of ASB. Although there were no other protective strategies that could account for the decreased levels of reported ASB, wider factors need to be considered. The demography of the area may have changed during the period the statistics were taken from, which could in turn alter the levels of ASB; if the
younger generation who are more likely to commit ASB and crimes, according to the British Crime Survey, have left the area and an older generation moved in, this could reduce the number of incidents of ASB. A change in political governance of the area may also account for the reduced levels of ASB after the installation of the CCTV; if ASB became less of a priority it may not be as rigorously monitored and recorded as it had previously. If this was the case the levels of ASB may drop through underreporting and under-recording of the incidents. There may also be a far simpler explanation. The number of incidents of ASB may not have reduced, the community may just not be reporting the incidents as often as they had done previously. Noise nuisance is a good example of this; noise nuisance is not dealt with by the police, the onus is on the LA. If noise nuisance occurs at a weekend and the victim calls the police to be told that they cannot deal with it and the LA need to deal with it, by the time the office opens on the next working day the victim may not report it due to forgetting or apathetically not getting round to it. Although the initial incident that caused them to call the police and report it would be recorded, further incidents are unlikely to be reported if they occur at weekends as few people report incidents to the police when they cannot deal with the problem just to help uncover the dark number, most people report incidents to have them dealt with and the behaviour stopped. Further to this if the community becomes more aware that the LA, in this case Fylde Borough Council, have the tools to deal with ASB and take the situation seriously they may no longer feel the need to report incidents to the police and report all incidents of ASB to the LA instead. As the data was taken from police recorded incidents of ASB the level of ASB may not have reduced, it may just be the reports are going elsewhere so really there is little clarity as to whether the CCTV has been effective and reduced levels of ASB or whether the community has been reporting ASB to other agencies. If there were more time and resources this would be an interesting area to look at; as police recorded ASB levels fall do levels of ASB reported to Housing Associations and LAs rise? The results for St Annes are intrinsically different to those gathered for Blackpool, which could be accounted for by the difference in the demography of the areas, the difference in population density in the areas and the difference in relative and actual deprivation rates between the areas.
Interview Analysis Fig IX The interview has very low ecological validity as it is a case study and the questions all centred on the individuals opinion but it does have several strong themes running through it that can be identified. The main theme is that CCTV is a positive entity and has many more uses than just tackling crime and ASB. The secondary theme seems to that of the reduction of fear rather than the reduction of actual incidents. Further themes suggest that CCTV is a good tool to prevent ASB as the perpetrators can be warned they are being watched and that CCTV is little use without a skilled operator in the control room who knows the trigger behaviours to look for. There is no doubt that the CCTV operator and manager view CCTV as a benevolent entity and view the use of CCTV in apprehension, prevention and conviction of crime and ASB as important, but these results are flawed in the sense that it is the interviewees job to work with CCTV and as with any company they are aware that they have to portray their role
in a positive manner. One of the comments that can be seen to increase the validity of the findings was that the operator and manager were fully aware that CCTV is seen by many as a malevolent introduction and that the talking CCTV is rarely used for minor infractions of the law such as littering. There is little else that can be said about the interview as the responses in the results section are in depth and self-explanatory. As with most case studies the evidence is subjective and flawed due to this, as discussed in the methodology section, and does not contain any factual statistical information to draw any conclusions from. Any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing ASB in Blackpool have already been discussed in the analysis of the statistical information gathered for the Blackpool area as have the possible reasons for the results. If the interviewee responses had concentrated more on the issue of ASB than they did it might have been easier to analyse this in relation to the research question, but it was difficult to keep the answers in relation to ASB in a semi-structured interview. If the interview were to be conducted again a structured interview may be more appropriate. Although there were many issues with the information gathered from the interview in relation to the topic area, there is no doubt that the interview was still an important part of the research as it has bridged a gap in knowledge and dispelled many of the myths surrounding CCTV and its implications and it has to a certain extent countered the concept of the canteen culture of CJS workers suggested by Norris et al (1998) as there was not even a hint of bias or stereotyping apparent in the interviewees answers.
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Conclusion As with all community safety strategies CCTV has a finite life cycle, so the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing crime and ASB must be monitored closely to ensure that any success rate is maintained. Property crime rates such as criminal damage, which falls under the category of ASB, began to increase a mere eight months after the installation of CCTV, making it essential that success stories are regularly brought to public attention, both to deter potential offenders and to reduce fear in the general public (Armitage, R., 2002). Nacro found that street lighting was just as effective as the installation of CCTV cameras in reducing ASB and crime, but this does not tackle the issue of the fear of ASB or crime so in relation to the fear maybe CCTV is the right initiative to implement (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/improved-street-lighting-cuts-more-crimethan-cctv-639912.html). Felson and Clarke (1998) theorise that crime can be displaced. By changing the opportunity for criminal acts to occur, such as installing CCTV cameras, crime can be moved from one place to another which has led to the government installing CCTV in residential areas as well as in town centres. The increased levels of surveillance may displace crime into the more deprived Wards, the Wards or areas where there is not a large enough budget to install CCTV, which could in turn, make the situation worse in those areas. In this sense CCTV is not a positive initiative and may increase the negative attitudes held about it (http://www.doktorjon.co.uk/bygone%20days/historyofcctv1.html; http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/learningzone/displacement_theory.htm). The research has contributed to the knowledge of the subject area, possibly filling a gap in the literature available as there is little research or information regarding the effectiveness of CCTV in reducing ASB. There were many aspects that needed more attention than it was possible to give them in this research, both financial and time constraints made it difficult to complete the research considering all of the factors that may have shed more light on the situation. There is certainly a need for more research to be done in this area and it would, as mentioned previously, be interesting to look into whether as reports of ASB to the police fall reports of ASB to other agencies rise. However, with the change from the New Labour government, who concentrated a lot of time, effort and resources on the problem of ASB (CDA98; ASBA03), to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, who seem to be concentrating on the economy as their top priority, it remains to be seen whether any further resources will be put into ASB and the effectiveness of CCTV. There seems little likelihood that the current Government will consider this area of research a priority as there are already concerns about the closure of CCTV Units due to funding issues and many CCTV Units have had to reduce the level of staff employed and the hours that the control rooms are manned, including the Blackpool CCTV Unit who participated in this research, after the financial cuts that the Government have made to try to rescue the economy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7971436.stm; http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/safety_fears_over_cctv_cuts_1_3083207).
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http://www.aroundtheinterwebs.com/wp-content/uploads/panopticon01.jpg accessed 09/03/2011 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7971436.stm accessed 09/05/2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/seaside_01.shtml accessed 14/04/2011 http://www.bch.co.uk/antisocialbehaviour/ accessed 09/05/2011 http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/safety_fears_over_cctv_cuts_1_3083207 accessed 09/05/2011 http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NM4TAAAAQAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq =jeremy+bentham+panopticon&ots=Y_qTCWRM2E&sig=bPs2M3OP7T0ViVSqaRmIm5_2jU#v=onepage&q&f=false accessed 09/03/2011 http://www.cartome.org/foucault.htm accessed 09/03/2011 http://www.cartome.org/panopticon1.htm accessed 09/03/2011 http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/cyberspace/graham_cctv_fifth_utility.pdf accessed 20/04/2011 http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/general/ethicol/Ecv12no1.html accessed 20/04/2011 http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/learningzone/displacement_theory.htm accessed 18/05/2011 http://www.doktorjon.co.uk/bygone%20days/historyofcctv1.html accessed 09/03/2011 http://www.fylde.gov.uk/community-services/community-safety/anti-social-behaviourpledge/?textonly=1 accessed 09/05/2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jan/16/ukcrime.haroonsiddique accessed 31/03/2011 http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8035760 accessed 14/04/2011 http://www.imd.communities.gov.uk/ accessed 02/05/2011 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/improved-street-lighting-cuts-more-crimethan-cctv-639912.html accessed 18/05/2011 http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icpr/publications/Licensing_Blackpool.pdf accessed 20/04/2011 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/37/part/I/enacted accessed 09/02/2011 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/38/contents accessed 05/05/2011 http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/privacy/cctv-and-anpr/index.php accessed 09/03/2011 http://www.saferlancashire.co.uk/2011/yourarea/index.asp accessed 09/02/2011 http://www.saferlancashire.co.uk/2011/yourarea/table_view/table-ward-rolling-20081231.asp accessed 09/05/2011
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=314 accessed 05/05/2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1546673/CCTV-cameras-get-upgrade-at-policerequest.html accessed 20/04/2011 http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/bulger/1.html accessed 31/03/2011 http://www.visitblackpool.com/xsdbimgs/131_10_Regeneration_Strategy.pdf accessed14/04/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2kyT9NbXw accessed 31/03/2011
30
Appendices Appendix 1
31
Appendix II
32
33
34
Appendix III
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Appendix IV
36
Appendix V Town Centre CCTV Data Evaluation Methodology The two current town centre CCTV systems each straddle two wards, Ashton and Central Wards in St. Annes and Kirkham North and South in Kirkham. Any proposed CCTV system in Lytham would be located within Clifton Ward alone. Data sets for the Ward areas were obtained for the past 3 years in respect of incidents/crimes reported to and recorded by the police on their incident recording system. The data covered the following crimes/incidents considered relevant to CCTV:Assault Robbery Theft Criminal Damage (excluding vehicles) Vehicle Crime Public Order Rowdy or Inconsiderate behaviour Suspicious Circumstances Street Drinking Begging Both the Town Centre CCTV systems were switched on for the 1st September, 2009, so the analysis looked at 12 month periods that corresponded to the first 12months operational use of the cameras. (01/09/2007 to 30/08/2008, 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2009 and 01/09/2009 to 30/08/2010) The total annual Ward figures for the specified offences were initially compared to see if there was a step reduction in incidents that could be attributed to the 12 month period after the installation of CCTV. The data was then narrowed down to exclude streets that arent covered by the CCTV system to give an indication of what effect the cameras have had in their specific areas Any data that could not be expected to be addressed in some way by CCTV was then removed. e.g. complaints from within the Ward area that related to an incident that took place elsewhere. Finally, the remaining number of incidents/crimes were broken down into their respective categories to see how, if at all, each type had been affected by the CCTV. * There is a health warning in respect of the figures relating to 2008/09. There is an absence of information on a significant number of records which makes it impossible to determine whether they would be capable of being affected by CCTV. Therefore the figures for incidents with both streets and irrelevant incidents removed are not accurate for 2008/09 and
will be lower than those shown. This made it too difficult to provide any meaningful breakdown into specific categories of incidents for that year. Analysis St. Annes
Ward totals Irrelevant streets removed Irrelevant streets and incidents removed Fig 1.
2007/08 2064 951 704
2008/09 2136 935 753*
2009/10 1539 764 444
Breakdown of offences
Robbery Assault Theft Damage Vehicle Crime Public Order Rowdy/Inconsiderate behaviour Suspicious Circumstances Street Drinking Begging Fig 2.
2007/08 2 39 103 38 9 13 350 144 4 2
2008/09*
2009/10 2 39 100 18 11 4 183 81 4 2
The Data in Fig. 1 shows a significant drop in the number of recorded incidents for the 12 month period that the CCTV system was operating. Ward totals for these offences are down 28% on the previous year and 25% when compared to 2007/08. Once the irrelevant streets were removed from the data the recorded figures for 2009/10 were 20% and 18% lower when compared to the previous two years. Having discounted all the incidents that CCTV could not have any effect on, the recorded figures drop by 37% when compared with 2007/08.
38
Kirkham Fig. 3 2007/08 964 438 354 2008/09 753 349 298* 2009/10 601 273 180
Ward totals Irrelevant streets removed Irrelevant streets and incidents removed Breakdown of offences Robbery Assault Theft Damage Vehicle Crime Public Order Rowdy/Inconsiderate behaviour Suspicious Circumstances Street Drinking Begging Fig. 4
2007/08 1 28 28 40 8 12 179 57 0 1
2008/09*
2009/10 0 19 17 20 10 3 74 37 0 0
Ward figures for Kirkham show a consistent decrease year on year of 22% in 2008/09 and then a further 20% in 2009/10. This equates to a 38% drop over the whole 3 year period. Once the irrelevant streets have been taken out these figures are reversed and there is a 20% drop in 2008/09 followed by a 22% drop in 2009/10. This also equates to a 38% drop over the whole 3 year period. Once irrelevant streets and incidents/crimes are removed the data shows a decrease of 51% of these types of incidents when compared to 2007/08 Lytham Ward total Irrelevant streets removed 2007/08 482 223 2008/09 492 195 2009/10 429 153
39
Fig. 5 Breakdown of offences Robbery Assault Theft Damage Vehicle Crime Public Order Rowdy/Inconsiderate behaviour Suspicious Circumstances Street Drinking Begging Fig. 6 Lytham has no monitored CCTV and the Ward figures have been broadly level over the whole period, showing a slight increase in 2008/09 followed by a decrease of 13% in 2009/10 Looking at offences committed in the town centre where a notional 3 camera CCTV system could be installed, the data shows a year on year decrease. 13% in 2008/09 and 21% in 2009/2010. The streets used for this notional system are Clifton Street, Station Road, Park Street, Market Square, Dicconson Terrace, Henry Street, Part of Warton Street and Hastings Place. A breakdown of the incidents/crimes for 2009/10 are included at Fig. 6 above. 2009/10 3 18 23 7 3 2 55 41 1 0
40
Conclusion St. Annes There is a distinct step change in all the figures for the 12 month period the CCTV system in St. Annes has been in operation. There is a clear 18- 20% reduction in the specified crimes/incidents in the effective CCTV area that is difficult to attribute to any other initiative but the CCTV system. The system appears to have reduced the incidents/crimes that you would expect it to be able to have an effect on by 37% when compared to 2007/08. Despite the lack of data for 2008/09 it seems acceptable to presume the result would be similar for that year as the rest of the data for 2007/08 and 2008/09 are also similar. It is disappointing that there seems to be no reduction in the robbery, assault and theft categories. Robbery is remarkably low in any case and appears to be consistently so (There were only 2 offences reported in 2008/09). All the reported robberies appear to involve the theft of personal property from an individual and could be classed as less serious robberies, particularly when compared to the 3 that took place in Lytham in 2009/10 Most of the thefts are shoplifting offences and although CCTV can assist in this type of offence we are monitoring the cameras outside the normal shop opening times. Kirkham There isnt the clear step change here as there is in St. Annes. The figures show a consistent drop year on year which is more difficult to attribute to the CCTV system. However, the Incidents recorded by the CCTV control room show that the Kirkham cameras were involved in 58 of the 211 incidents recorded for Fylde, which amounts to 28% of the total. The cameras had also been used in 13 arrests for assault, damage, public order, stealing vehicles and shoplifting. It is probable that the system has contributed to the reduction of incidents/crimes for 2009/10 but it is not easy to quantify Lytham Clifton Ward as a whole has maintained a relatively low level of incidents over the three years with no significant reduction in any year. If CCTV was having an effect in the other two towns then this is the sort of result that would be expected for Lytham. However, this is not reflected in the area a prospective town centre CCTV system would be sited, the actual incidents/crimes having reduced by 21% in 2009/10. Although the figures show relatively low numbers of incidents/crimes it is worth noting that the 3 robberies that Lytham has suffered are all serious offences. Neither St Annes nor Kirkham have suffered similar, serious robberies in the past three years.
41
Appendix VI
42
Appendix VII
43

Fletcher Is CCTV Effective in Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour IJC August 2011

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Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

IS CCTV EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?

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Fixed penalty notices (FPNs) Gating orders

Individual support orders (ISOs)

Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions (ASBIs)

Intervention orders (IOs) Noise abatement notices

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs)

Adapted from http://www.respect.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=10088

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A likely and motivated offender

Lack of a capable guardian

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Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

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Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

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2007/08 2064 951 704

2008/09 2136 935 753*

2009/10 1539 764 444

2007/08 2 39 103 38 9 13 350 144 4 2

2009/10 2 39 100 18 11 4 183 81 4 2

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Internet Journal of Criminology 2011 ISSN 2045-6743 (Online)

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