Assistant Adjunct Professor Rajiv Shah Interviewed for WGNtv Story About Chicago Surveillance Cameras
Rajiv Shah, assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Communication, was interviewed for a WGNtv.com entitled “Are Surveillance Cameras Making Chicago Safer?” The story discusses the large number of surveillance cameras in the city, and what the effects of their recent proliferation have been. Shah offers his opinions on the effects of the cameras, and whether they’re the cause of the reduction in crime
“About two or three years ago, there was a huge rash of increases in street crime, largely because people were carrying around very expensive, very portable electronic devices—iPods, iPhones—that people could steal and readily sell. There was a high market value for those. … But now, as it’s harder to tell who has a ‘valuable’ iPhone versus and everyday iPhone, that crime has dramatically decreased. And so it’s difficult to figure out if the reduction in crime is due to thieves not going after iPhones as much, or if it’s the cameras.”
To hear Shah’s full interview, visit the WGNtv website here.