Originally Posted by: RaskolnikovAnd?

Are you saying we should spend our crime-fighting dollars where crimes aren't being committed?

Not at all...i'm simply saying your average street/corner is not monitored and they will never be...they are your 'average' street/corner because its not very troublesome compared to those that are,but your more likely to get attacked/mugged/killed on an average street/corner(obviously depends how much time you spend walking them).

Hot spots tend to be hot spots and cold spots tend to be cold spots for reasons; namely the hot spots are usually easier and more rewarding to operate in. If you can cut back crime in those areas, you can often make a dramatic impact upon crime rates in the whole city.

Say a bad neighborhood accounts for 90% of the crime in a given city, reducing crime only 25% in just that one 'hood is a 22.5% reduction for the whole city which is substantial. If you cut it in half, that's a 45% reduction for the whole city.

Like I said,it looks great on paper/statistics,but the criminal activity is still only reduced in those areas that are monitored and those numbers are ridiculous(yes,your just making a point I know).

More than I would if I were stopping for gas in "Ghost Town" (in Baton Rouge).

Never been to batten rouge...is it a ghost town?What are the crime rates for places considerd to be "boon docks"?Would you feel safer walking at 2:00 A.M in "Upton" Massachusetts(where a fender bender is the talk of the town) or 8:00 P.M in Boston within lights and crowds?

Look, everybody can't be martial arts experts, crack shots, fully trained EMTs and ready to break muggers in half at the drop of a hat -- nothing (outside of the crushing of muggers) would ever get done.

Nothing ever totally gets rid of crime, but cameras have been proven to discourage (and often aid in the prosecution of) everything from traffic violations to violent felonies. If there is less crime then we are safer.

My point is,people shouldn't find a false sense of absolute security just because a camera is in place.It can and does help deter the probability of an encounter,but is no replacement for good judgment and awarness...I didn't say martial arts.Thats the last thing I would recommend to anyone in a confrontation.