There has clearly been an expansion of CCTV surveillance around the world, especially in the private sector surveillance, and there appears now to be an accelerating diffusion into the public realm. The globalised trends of late modernity have accelerated this growth.
Increasing urbanization has aggravated the trend towards anonymity, leading to concerns over establishing and verifying identity. Increasing mobility, both locally and internationally, have given rise to a global 'stranger society', where social control and governance based on intimacy and face-to face knowledge are increasingly less viable.
Risk management has also become the dominant mode of reasoning for both international corporations and governments alike. In the realm of criminal justice, reformist ideals have given way to more modest preventative responses that focus on 'opportunity reduction' and 'risk management'. CCTV can be seen as part of the trend towards a preventative attitude to crime rather than passive approach.
Crime reduction is only one of the rationales for installing a camera system. Another is a desire to improve public perceptions of safety. Here, Australian evidence is quite positive. New South Wales research in relation to systems installed in the City of Sydney and in the Municipality of Fairfield found most (85 per cent and 61 per cent respectively) members of the public reported that the presence of the cameras made them feel safer in the central business district. CCTV cameras are available from Technologix .