On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 01:50:44 -0800, Allen Esterson wrote: >On 18 November 2010 Mike Palij wrote: >>Even in NYC I think people forget how often they are under >>surveillance. A situation like initially seems shocking until >>one realizes, oh yeah, there's someone watching us >>most of the time. > >Purely on the accuracy of this statement (with no intention to start a >discussion on the over-use of surveillance cameras :-) ), is it true >that "there's someone watching us most of the time"?
Let me explain myself, also without intent to start a discussion on the overuse of surveillance cameras. Allen appears to be making a (subtle?) distinction between: (1) someone actually watching a video feed in real time and (2) mere recording of activity on video which may or may not be viewed. Both of these activities occur though the person being video recorded probably will not know whether the case is (1) or (2). Take NYU for instance. Since 09/11/01, anyone entering an NYU building has to present a valid NYU ID to enter. The NYU Psychology building has had similar procedures in place before 09/11 especially in the off-hours when classes were not in session but people were working in their offices and/or labs. This was due to threats from animal rights protesters who objected to the research being done there (some of which involved surgery which might be done at night). In the Psych building there is a "security" booth in the lobby with a campus security person and video monitors. Over the years the monitors have ranged from several units providing a single feed of real-time video at critical points in the building to today where a large screen monitor supports something like 16-24 video feeds. I haven't asked but I assume that the security person has access to many other feeds if the need arises. Since a number of these scenes involved entry points from the street or activity on certain floors, the security person has to pay some attention to the monitors to determine whether anything significant is happening (e.g., is the person trying to enter by a side door just confused about the entrance to the building or are they trying to crack into the building). In addition, overnight, a security person walks the floors and has to scan/check in at specific points on each floor (I got to know a few security people this way while burning the late night oil). Today, depending upon the building and what goes on there, there is often a security booth and many have monitors for video feeds for locations in the building. When I walk by the main security office on campus (which is in a storefront), one can see a wall full of screens with video feeds from a variety of sources in university buildings, public spaces, and nearby areas. There are people watching these screens though I am sure that there is an ebb and flow of attention, in part because the probability of some bad event occurring is very low at certain times and the risks increase at other times. Is there some video recording that is not watched continuously or only examined in quick scan mode? Undoubtedly. Video of doorways that are supposed to locked and have no traffic don't need much attention (that is, until there is an unauthorized opening). Security knows where crimes and other problems are likely to occur on campus and maybe they know when they should be paying attention to their monitors. In places like the lobby of Bobst library, the security desk has monitors and the security people also scan the floors of the atrium (students sometimes like to drop things on the security desk even though Plexiglas panels have been put up to eliminates student dropping things or themselves). In addition, local buildings and businesses often have their own cameras (often conspicuously located on the outside of the building). I wouldn't be surprised if the video from these cameras are not frequently watched, as in the cases that Allen describes. But, what is the point of stretching out this point? That some video sources may be monitored more frequently then others? As someone who just sees the camera(s), how would one know who is watching now, later, or never? -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6597 or send a blank email to leave-6597-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
