Importance of Surveillance

For a lot of people, and in general the kids, the main source of interest or amusement in a mall or other public places are the weird looking video cameras that were located in every corner, with an attached visual display, where you could see yourself if you stared at the camera. Since then, the importance of surveillance has come a long way. No more restricted to only discreet corners of airports and supermarkets, nowadays you will be hard pressed to find any reasonably important place devoid of the prying eyes of surveillance technology.  It is basically monitoring the activity or behaviour of a person or a group of persons, and could also help in keeping an eye on the changes. 

The word surveillance is derived from a French word, meaning, “watch over”. While many may argue that being watched over is akin to the violation of the right to privacy, the present situations have made it a necessary evil to employ surveillance measures. Post the terrible acts of terrorism, be it in the USA, or the UK, or even in different Asian nations like India, civic authorities have ensured that every vulnerable region is being watched so that such acts are not repeated. Surveillance does not include only using close circuit cameras, it includes diverse measures such as monitoring of internet traffic, emails and data, and in some delicate situations, even the monitoring of mail and telephonic conversations. While it certainly does cast an undesirable shadow on the privacy of individuals, it has to be supported for the sake of the greater good. The advantages and benefits that we have reaped from the strict surveillance employed by civic authorities in many instances far outweigh the little discomfort it causes to the individual. Many instances of bombings have been foiled due to advanced surveillance techniques and alert authorities. In several cases, email monitoring and tapping of suspected telephones have yielded the police with valuable information regarding the activities and whereabouts of social miscreants and terrorists. The much sensationalized trial of Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26\11 attacks in Mumbai has been sentenced to death, based on CCTV footage which made it easy to identify him and establish his role in the attack. However advantageous it might be, it should be kept in mind by higher authorities that there exists a thin line between surveillance, and unprovoked violation of privacy, which should not be crossed.