Does CCTV Still Work

There are cameras all over the place and some are clearly more effective than others.

Plus there are concerns from the Police that the quality of the picture is not going to be clear enough to allow for a conviction, if the pictures are to be used as evidence in a court of law. If the person is caught while they are still on the premises, seeing themselves on CCTV may be enough to get them to confess, but is this technology is not going to be as effective as was once thought is a comment we often here from long standing LP Directors at our events, and in fact only this week also – personally I think the CCTV vendors have in fact been working very hard and have if anything reinvigorated this technology to the point where investment in the latest tech is that old cliché - a 'must have'

If the camera is being used after the event there is much less chance that there will be a conviction as the pictures are not of a very high standard. Figures from Scotland have shown that the conviction rate is not high and the chance of getting identification, let alone a conviction is as low as 1 in 7 with old tape based CCTV systems.

In the USA it is estimated that 2 % of customers intend to shoplift, so for many retailers a good and effective CCTV system still has a place, especially as one area where CCTV is going to be effective is in face recognition. In fact if the aim is to avoid the loss in the loss in the first place then if someone is a known shoplifter they could be recognised by the system, store staff alerted via text and they could be removed from the store before they commit the crime.

Of course, if EAS was to 'up its game' in the same way as CCTV, or if the much talked about RFID solutions started to deliver on their promises then maybe, just maybe, the balance of power would tip in the retailers favour … well at least for a little while!

What do you think?