Surveillance systems are part and parcel of living in large cities and working at high-profile companies. It’s no surprise that people behave very differently when they’re alone and when they know they’re being watched. You can learn a lot about someone’s character when you monitor them without them realizing it. Sometimes, the results are very unexpected.
Inspired by user u/PopCultureNerd, the members of the r/AskReddit community who are in charge of surveillance systems and security cameras spilled the tea about the most bizarre things they’ve ever seen. Check out their captivating stories below!
We got in touch with the author of the popular thread, u/PopCultureNerd, who was happy to share their thoughts on safety and security. Check out Bored Panda’s interview with them below.
#1
I monitored the security cameras for an apartment complex and saw a couple beating their dog. Right in front of the apartment building. I confronted them, almost got assaulted, they were arrested, and-- long story short-- my friend now owns their dog.
Image credits: Different_Pause8486
We were very curious about what had inspired the internet user to start the thread in the first place. “I was at a supermarket buying food, and I couldn’t help but notice that there were not only security cameras everywhere but that I could see screens showing their feeds. Something about it got me wondering what they record,” u/PopCultureNerd shared with Bored Panda.
From their perspective, one reason why the topic was such a big hit with so many Redditors was that we all deal with cameras more and more. However, at the same time, we have “no idea what is actually being recorded.”
#2
Image credits: JDouwes
#3
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In their opinion, there’s no longer any difference between how people behave when they’re alone and when they know they’re being monitored. Having a camera around at all times has become normalized.
“As such, I think many people have no real sense of their behavior in regards to private vs public spaces,” u/PopCultureNerd.
Bored Panda also wanted to get the OP’s thoughts on the link between security cameras and, well, security. The author told us that they don’t believe cameras make us safer.
“These cameras may make it easier for law enforcement to find suspects. As I see it, we now live in a time in which every person has a camera on them at all times. Every crime can be and often is recorded somehow. Yet, crimes still get committed.”
#4
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#5
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#6
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The fact that people behave differently because they know they’re being watched is known as the Hawthorne effect. It can affect a wide range of behaviors, from how someone takes care of their hygiene to even what they eat.
The Catalog of Bias points to a fascinating study conducted in 2006. It found that medical staff were 55% more likely to comply with hand-washing regulations than when they weren’t observed.
However, one issue with studies that look at the Hawthorne effect is that they might affect people’s behavior simply by them being aware that they’re taking part in a study. Hidden observation, however, could help sidestep that problem.
#7
Image credits: Queasy_Dog_992
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#9
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Based on the data collected by IHS Markit in 2021, there are over 1 billion surveillance cameras around the world.
According to Comparitech, the most surveilled country in the entire world is China, with 626 million estimated cameras or an average of 439 cameras per 1k people. After that comes the Indian cities of Hyderabad (900k cameras or 83.32 per 1k people), Indore (200k cameras; 60.57 per 1k people), and Delhi (449,934 cameras; 19.96 per 1k people).
Meanwhile, Singapore boasts 214k total cameras, Baghdad has 120k, Seoul has 144.5k, and London has over 127.4k.
However, Clarion Security Systems estimated that there were 942,562 CCTV cameras in London, or 1 for every 10 people, in 2022. Though, these numbers are still a guess.
#10
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#12
Image credits: ScarletWinters2024
The need to balance security and privacy is going to be an ongoing debate in the foreseeable future. On the one hand, we all want to feel safe. On the other hand, nobody wants to be treated like a potential criminal. Let’s be frank, being constantly observed on the off chance of preventing crime sounds dystopian and totalitarian…
…which is making a lot of folks who live and work in London a tad uncomfortable. The Metropolitan Police is continuing to use so-called live facial recognition, or LFR, in parts of the city and during important events.
Essentially, this “vital” policing tool maps an individual’s unique facial features and then matches them up against the faces of people on watch lists. According to the BBC, there have been around 50 arrests in Croydon during 8 deployments of LFR vans so far.
#13
Image credits: OnlyTheBLars89
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#15
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“This technology is a really precise and really efficient way for us to catch these people, because otherwise it’s about us knocking on doors, it’s about us doing searches and talking to people. Isn’t it better to do it like this, where it’s really quick and simple and we get the same outcome?” Andy Brittain, a Metropolitan Police borough commander for Sutton, Croydon, and Bromley, said.
The technology isn’t perfect, though. The false-positive identification rate, where someone is falsely flagged as a suspect, is 1 in 6,000. Nor can passers-by refuse to consent to having their faces scanned by the technology in these police vans. It’s all happening without their knowledge.
#16
Image credits: The_Bestest_Sloth
