The Effect of CCTV on Prisoner Misbehavior

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of closed circuit television (CCTV) in prison, few studies have explored its effect on prisoner misbehavior. Research was conducted to explore two research questions: (i) does CCTV have a greater preventative effect on nonviolent than violent prisoner misbehavior, and (ii) does CCTV have a greater preventative effect on planned than unplanned violent behavior. Data were obtained on the 1,116 incidents involving aberrant prisoner behavior that occurred at four prisons in Queensland (Australia) over a six year period. Findings indicated that violent and unplanned misbehavior were relatively more likely to occur in view of CCTV coverage than were non-violent and unplanned misbehavior. The implications for the prevention of aberrant inmate behavior and for our understanding of the impact of CCTV on violence are discussed.2

CCTV in jail housing: An evaluation of technology-enhanced supervision

“…Given that recent research of public surveillance cameras suggest active monitoring is critical to the technology's effectiveness (La Vigne et al, 2011a), the absence of stronger effects may also be because of the lack of integrating these interventions with additional staff training, an accompanying inmate behavior management strategy or stronger monitoring. To be sure, cameras have been found to be effective in other studies (for example, Allard et al, 2008;La Vigne et al, 2011a), and it may be that the manner in which these cameras were deployed and used limited their effectiveness. Although the jail is credited with implementing mandatory video review for every incident and monthly random reviews of video footage, there was little direct monitoring of cameras and random reviews only covered a relatively small proportion of time.…”

“…The first study to examine behavioral outcomes of CCTV in correctional environments was a survey of 220 inmates at a British prison for young offenders (see Allard et al, 2008). The study compared self-reported rates of victimization and offending between inmates living in units with CCTV in the shower areas and inmates living in units without cameras.…”

“…Finally, another study (Allard et al, 2008) examined behavioral outcomes of surveillance cameras in Australian prisons. The researchers collected administrative data on 1116 incidents across four prisons during a 6-year period and compared the number of incidents occurring in camera-monitored areas with the number of incidents occurring in locations without surveillance.…”

Implementation of video surveillance in crime control

“…U dosadašnjim istraživanjima otkrivene su izvesne pozitivne promene u ponašanju zatvorenika koje se mogu pripisati primeni video-nadzora. Kod osuđenika koji su boravili u prostorima pokrivenim video-nadzorom zabeleženo je i do 50% manje incidenata u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu (Allard et al, 2008). Isti autori nalaze da video-nadzor uspešnije prevenira nenasilne nego nasilne prestupe i planirane nasilne u odnosu na neplanirane nasilne postupke.…”

Evaluation of a Situational Crime Prevention Approach in Three Jails: The Jail Sexual Assault Prevention Project

“…A qualitative study of the implementation and impact of the program in six prisons found the approach to be promising, although more research is needed to determine its long-term impact on suicide and self-harm rates (Burrows et al 2003). Studies of the use of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in Australian prisons found that the cameras did deter inmates from nonviolent misbehavior and planned acts of violence but not spontaneous violent acts such as fights (Allard et al 2008). In the 1990s, Rikers Island jails installed a computerized inmate phone system designed to save money and reduce illegitimate Evaluation of a Situational Crime Prevention Approach in Three Jails The Jail Sexual Assault Prevention Project 12 calls by inmates.…”