The large increase of the CCTV has brought about mainly for the protection of private property, and to help aid the police officials on the whereabouts of certain criminals. CCTV has become a must for many businesses and has therefore given the Police a huge helping hand in finding criminals as CCTV companies usually wok hand to hand with the Australian Police. Overall the use of CCTV has been positive in both deterring and individual to commit a crime or to reoffend, and as it has also played a vital role in the use as evidence in court cases something that has remained essential in proving almost exact evidence in many crimes, it also shows crimes committed when the shop or business owner isn’t present so they can be used for protection based purposes. CCTV can also be used as a deterrent for crimes. CCTV also has disadvantages which limit its capability to justify a verdict, some examples include lack of distance and radius coverage, the image is not always clear and distinct. Don’t necessarily always operate as it requires constant monitoring. The issue of privacy has arisen from the use of CCTV as they have been linked to invasion of privacy, they have also been linked to some country becoming Police states much like an Orwellian novel due to the amount of CCTV cameras used in specific areas. Such as voyeurism occurring in many cases 1 in 10 women were targeted.(BBC CCTV cameras 2006, Keeping CCTV In Bounds 2013)
Police use other methods of accumulating evidence and or information. This recently new technology DNA Profiling has been integrated for police use to help justify cases. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is a molecule that contains and individual’s genetic information. DNA is located in the nucleus of every cell all through the human body. The positives of DNA Profiling is that it can be very accurate means of obtaining a suspects DNA to either identify a body that has been found, or to play a crucial role in comparing the suspects DNA to determine whether the individual was involved in the crime through the DNA that may have been left behind and used as evidence. There are several negative aspects of DNA Profiling; it poses ethical views on whether the police should keep such samples of individuals who may have been accused of a crime. The evidence obtained isn’t necessarily accurate as the evidence may have been tampered with, and like any other method/technique used by forensic scientists it is very likely to be exposed to human error. (DNA Profiling, INTERPOL, 2009)
Capsicum Spray (OC Spray) is an inflammatory agent that is produced from red Cayenne peppers. It is a widely used method by police if the person resists and refuses arrest. Once an individual is sprayed by capsicum spray the person will have a moment of uncontrollable, coughing and may have some breathing difficulties. Although capsicum spray may be perceived as brute force it, is a much safer means then using a Taser or in fact a hand gun. These effects last between 10-15 minutes allowing the perpetrator to be detained and arrested. The advantages of using Capsicum spray is not injure the individual but to use as little force as possible while being effective in doing so. Evidence shows that there has been less force used by the police, “as Edwards, Granfield and Onnen(1997) found a substantial decrease in use-of-force complaints following the introduction of OC spray” (Brown. J., 2005, p. 7). Some disadvantages of capsicum spray include some major concerns about health issues due to the fact it can cause serious illness, and long term and short. There have been cases especially in asthmatics were the victim has been killed due to the restriction of the airways, due to the swelling. And according to statistics “17 per cent experienced severe effects and needed more aftercare” (Brown. J., 2005 p. 8).
Technologies (Tasers, CCTV Cameras, DNA Profiling, and Capsicum Spray), are continually going to be criticized by the media whether it be positive or negative. The media has a strong influence on people such as their view Tasers, they contradict Tasers as being harmful because 1 person may have been killed but it doesn’t mention how many it has saved, instead of the police officer using a gun. CCTV Cameras have also been on current debate as to whether they should be removed in some areas due to privacy issues. Capsicum Spray is also somewhat criticized due the life threatening effects it has on asthmatics.
In researching the upgrade and use of new technological techniques and tools by the Australian Police and the issues that have arisen with them. In my opinion I think that the advantages has outweighed the adverse effects as they are only the small percentage of cases where abuse has been documented. The new technologies introduced has saved more lives as hostile situations can be dealt with without deadly force new technology has allowed for databases of criminals to have been recorded and updated faster than ever insuring that criminals and suspects can be found faster and that proof can be used. The deadly cases of people being injured or even killed to the case of unfortunate police brutality are just a minority of cases and very rarely happen or they don’t happen at all, a significant portion more people are saved then abused with the introduction of new equipment’s. A bigger issue that needs to be addressed is the training of Police and what behavior is acceptable and unacceptable as it is the Police attitude towards work and his experience which gets in the way with work, younger inexperienced Police officers are usually the ones causing the problems as they panic in situations that they have never been in before, it was their actions and behavior that has caused the problem not the Tasers or capsicum spray. Technologies such as these are caught in the cross fire in debates because people blame the Taser when in fact it is a safe self-defense weapon to use, much goes the same with capsicum spray. The invasion of privacy and liberty is also another bigger issue that needs to be addressed, overall the CCTV cameras has helped solve so many crimes such as drunken brawls and robbery cases than any other form of Police equipment as it gathers an accurate database and picture of what happens in its surroundings. Smaller issues such as their use for voyeurism and invasion of someone privacy are big statements in a democratic world where liberty and freedom, and privacy are the building blocks of democracy. Instead of targeting the CCTV which is used by the Police and business owners to protect their jobs issues such as who gets them and who is allowed to have them should be dealt with first, in right only Police should be able to use them in this way inappropriate things can’t be done with the CCTV footage.
References/Bibliography
The Australian. (20 November, 2008) NSW Ombudsman call for freeze on Taser guns. Date retrieved 6/05/2013. From on-tasers/story-e6...
Facts about Tasers. (29 January 2008) Ministerial Media Statement. Date retrieved 6/05/2013. From . (Crime and Misconduct Commission).
The Conversation (5 December 2012) Tasers in the spot light comforting myths and shocking realities. Date retrieved 6/05/2013. From ...
CCTV Cameras.(12 January 2013) Advantages and Disadvantages of CCTV Cameras. Date retrieved 7/05/2013 From
Keeping CCTV In Bounds.(2002) What’s Wrong With Public Video Surveillance? ACLU. Date Retrieved 7/05/2013 From
INTERPOL. (10 July 2009) DNA Profiling – Recent Developments and Future Directions, DNA Profiling. Date retrieved 7/05/2013 From ... (11/01/2013)
Brown. L., (October 2005) OC Sprac, Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray use by Queensland Police Date retrieved 8/05/2013 From . (Crimes and Misconduct Commission).
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