Judy Du, G11A, RDF International School

Due to the anxiety about the rising tide of crime and other potential rebellious activities, a sense of safety has attracted public concern. For optimum results, setting up cameras in public places is definitely a fundamental solution, though those authorities in charge are still wavering on the validity and rationality behind it.

It is manifest that people will behave carefully when they realize that cameras are around them. In comparison with private zones in which people can do whatever they like, supervised areas such as classrooms and plazas can repress peoples’ aggressiveness by influencing people to avoid potential punishments unconsciously.

My brother is a case in point. He is a basketball club leader in high school who often plays basketball with his teammates at a playground during the afternoon.

Because of limited spaces, confrontations like arguments and distaste are inevitable among those hormone-rich boys who belong to soccer teams, baseball teams, and basketball teams. However, these “battles” have never caused any severe outcome yet, for every boy knows that videos recorded by those monitors in the playground can be submitted to teachers if they fight, with the result of them not only being criticized but also possibly being expelled. It seems that recording the public would control some impulsive behavior to some extent.

Also, these digital devices can provide precious clues for people. Given the overgrown population, a considerable number of people flow to public spaces, so that it is likely to lose a child in a second or by oversight. There is no denying that cameras installed in public zones can help careless parents to find their children. Take my Aunt Lily, a mother of a 5-year-old boy named Harry, as an example. Last month, she brought Harry to Wal-Mart, a supermarket near their residence, to purchase some daily necessities.

When Lily concentrated on selecting brands of honey, Harry was attracted by an Iron Man toy and toddled toward it. Nearly three minutes later, she found out that her young child was out of her sight. She did not panic so much but went to the security room to check the video history right away because she already knew there were monitors there. Fortunately, she successfully traced Harry and picked him up at the corner of the Avengers toys. Cameras, accordingly, in public areas are helpful, especially for those who are not cautious enough.

Although some voices may condemn this practice as violating privacy, the safety of a community is far more important than one individual’s interest. After all, people don’t live in virtual animations but the real world, a world with unsolvable social malice and other unpredictable incidents.