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Let’s be under no illusions, but drunk and disorderly or drug influenced behaviour will never be deterred by the mere presence of a CCTV system.

However security cameras can prove vital as a tool to assist in bringing a conviction, which in itself helps to generate awareness of the systems capabilities (another case of DtD - Deterrence through Detection).

As a basic example of how ‘global’ profiling paints an overall picture, you begin to get a good idea as to how the defined objectives for a system, can help enormously when refining its eventual design and structure.

In our previous example, the bulk of the camera installation would be based on fixed high resolution units capable of fulfilling the requirements for a ‘passive’ role, whilst the incorporation of occasional remote control Pan, Tilt & Zoom (PTZ) or Dome cameras, would offer the degree of flexibility needed, to fulfil the unique requirements in Incident Monitoring and Site Management roles.

It is worth briefly mentioning at this point, that in general terms, whilst dome cameras are aesthetically more pleasing for a town centre or public area location, they are generally far less efficient at deterring unlawful activity, than a conventional PTZ camera.
 

Where a miniature dome camera unit is deployed for it's pleasing looks, and minimal visual impact, the flip side is that most people don't notice the cameras, and so the potential deterrent effect available from visual observation, is significantly reduced.

By contrast, conventional PTZ camera assemblies may be visually more intrusive in a Public Space, but the fact that they can be seen to be working, not only increases their passive deterrent effect, but also serves to heighten the publics awareness of CCTV, and the 'feel good' factor that it invokes in many people.
 

Having provided an overview of the (category 1) ‘global’ considerations for a CCTV project, the next stage is to look closely at the benefits of (category 2) ‘macro’ and (category 3) 'micro' profiling.
 

If we consider part of a largish site, such as a shopping centre, at a macro level the requirements may simply be to obtain an overview of pedestrian movements, and concentrate evidential imaging on key parts or locations within that area.
 

Let’s start with a fairly basic example: Take three doors sited within twenty five metres of each other in a popular shopping centre (a specific macro location) ....

... the main public entrance,
... an emergency fire exit door,
... and the staff entrance door used by personnel and contractors.
 

The ‘micro’ profiles for each individual location may possibly be as are shown on the following pages:-

More information on developing a System Profile >>>

In general terms, shoplifting is often either opportunistic and carried out by local residents (perhaps school children for ‘a dare’, and drug users for a 'fix’), or professionals who live some distance away from their target store, and who regularly repeat offend after a reasonable period has elapsed.

Whilst resting from one offence, they will of course not hesitate to target another prime location, usually with the advantage of carefully applied disguises.

These latter individuals can often be apprehended or surpressed, through the exchange of intelligence between department stores & shopping centres (malls).