Like many others, I have had certain qualms about the growth in the use of surveillance cameras on public streets. I came across an event where surveillance cameras were instrumental in catching a serial killer in Philadelphia. It has made me rethink at least some of my objects to the ubiquity of video surveillance.
Patricia McDermott was walking on a street in downtown Philadelphia last May when a man suddenly walked up and shot her in the back of the head, killing her. Police were able to witness the murder after the fact by gathering surveillance tapes from all the cameras on all the office buildings on the street. They were able to track the killer for over a half mile down various city streets until they lost him. The tape was broadcast on local television and a tip identified the killer, who turned out to have committed four other unprovoked shooting, killing two.
The video in the attached link is fascinating and chilling.
Catching a Killer, With Help From a Camera