What kind of privacy concerns are associated with public video surveillance?
One concern voiced by groups in Canada is the potential for video surveillance to lead to racial profiling. Studies in Britain have shown that control room operators do tend to disproportionately target minorities. (See Resources, below). Another concern is that footage will be used or disclosed for other purposes. In Britain, camera operators have been caught selling tapes for entertainment and journalistic purposes. In one instance, footage of a man attempting suicide was shown on the news. In another, control room operators released footage of couples in intimate situations, that was subsequently compiled and sold to the public. In Glasgow, the police have threatened to release CCTV footage of cars in a red light district as leverage to get individuals to assist with an investigation. See this article for more examples. More likely, perhaps, is the phenomenon of “function creep” and “net widening”. In Britain, CCTV footage that was originally intended to help catch violent criminals
