EDITORIAL: Security cameras

More security cameras are appearing in the streets these days.

The National Police Agency will start a model program this fiscal year that will place security cameras, managed by private sector groups, near elementary and junior high schools to safeguard school routes for children.

There are also plans to place state-of-the-art cameras that automatically respond to and record irregular activities, such as people brawling, in busy downtown areas.

In the Akihabara district of Tokyo, where a stabbing spree took place last year, the local community and shops are discussing whether to set up security cameras. There are also districts where the local government and residents are leading the movement to install cameras in their neighborhoods.

In various questionnaires, many people have said they think "security cameras are necessary." No doubt they see them as symbols of safety and assurance. A number of voluntary presentations of security camera images to the police have led to criminal arrests.

However, according to police, at least 12,000 security cameras have been set up in streets and squares. If you add the cameras in apartment buildings, banks and convenience stores, we are surrounded by countless cameras every day.

Perhaps we should take time to think about a society surrounded by security cameras.

There are reports that the number of crimes dropped in areas with security cameras. However, there is still debate over whether the cameras are really effective in preventing crime.

And many people worry that the cameras can lead to invasions of privacy. The cameras now are so technically improved that individuals are easily identified. It is also possible to store vast amounts of visual data. Once that data leaks onto the Internet, then no one can prevent it from spreading.

Most people are being filmed without knowing where the cameras are, who is watching, and how the images will be used.

How can we reconcile the merits and dangers of security cameras?

Five years ago, Tokyo's Suginami Ward put together a guideline as well as a local ordinance for the placing of security cameras, the first of its kind in the country.

Suginami Ward decreed that security cameras in the streets must be registered with the head of the ward, and the presence of cameras must be clearly indicated.

The images can be stored only for seven days, and sharing them with a third party will be prohibited in principle. The ward must reprimand or publicize any infractions.

Since then, other local bodies have put together similar rules. Police cameras follow different rules in different prefectures, so the storage period allowed for the images and the rules for operational procedures for the images differ from prefecture to prefecture. Many shopping areas follow their own set of rules.

Perhaps it is time we started a national debate to compile at least a basic set of rules to regulate security cameras in public spaces.

To begin with, no matter who is in charge of placing the cameras, the operational procedures need to be more transparent. Providing the images to legal authorities must be subject to the most rigorous of conditions.

The use of police cameras must be subjected to third party oversight. We also need a help desk where people can complain about being caught on tape.

The security cameras must be watched closely so that society can make the best use of them. We should start thinking about how best to achieve this.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 6(IHT/Asahi: July 7,2009)