Americans have grown accustomed to being watched. Many take for granted that almost every time they enter or leave a store, use an automated teller machine, walk into an office lobby – or even stroll down a city street – they are being surveyed and likely recorded.
For a city – such as Chicago or Baltimore, which are considered progressive in the use of video surveillance – the purpose may be to keep the streets safer. Businesses have multiple reasons for installing video surveillance, including employee safety, limiting shrinkage and theft of merchandise, documentation of break-ins or holdups, and liability.