Recently, more people are using smart doorbell cameras and sharing footage with the police, but there is little data showing their effectiveness.
Crime Recording by Smart Doorbell Cameras
On a Monday at the end of June, two women were outside on the 500 block of Greeley Road in Akron, Ohio, when they were shot at. Moments earlier, three young men were seen stopped in a silver Ford Taurus, got out of the vehicle, opened fire, and then fled, according to local media reports. Over 40 shell casings were recovered, and reports say the bullets struck multiple cars and homes. One of the victims, a 65-year-old woman, said she was shot in the shoulder while sitting on her porch. “I have lived here for 41 years and I can’t even sit on my porch anymore,” she told 19 News in Cleveland.
Smart Doorbell Program in Akron
The next day, another incident occurred about a mile away, also involving several young men in a car. In both cases, the incidents were recorded by Ring smart doorbell cameras and the footage was shared with the police department and local TV stations.
Other Smart Doorbell Programs
Akron and Shreveport join a growing number of cities where authorities are purchasing Ring smart doorbells and offering them to residents for free or at a discount. In 2019, over 400 police departments partnered with Ring. By the end of November, that number has increased to over 2,600 police departments, along with nearly 600 fire departments and more than 70 local government agencies.
Effectiveness of Smart Doorbells in Crime Prevention
The problem is that there is very little published data on the effectiveness of Ring – or other lesser-known smart doorbell cameras like Google Nest, Skybell, ADT, or Vivint – as a tool for crime prevention or deterrence, several researchers told Undark. According to a dataset that helped researchers at the MIT Media Lab create the first national map and analysis of Ring users and usage patterns, the cameras may have little to no impact on crime in Los Angeles, a city that has a relatively high concentration of devices.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Smart Doorbells
Ring claims that its smart doorbells also prevent crime, according to Ben Stickle, a crime researcher at Middle Tennessee State University who studies package theft and emerging crimes. This seems to be the selling point, but “it really hasn’t been studied.”
Increase in Smart Doorbell Use
The number of Ring cameras has increased nationwide as more consumers choose to have packages delivered at home since the pandemic began. Some analysts say that the increase in smart doorbells does not make neighborhoods safer but rather increases police powers through video requests without warrants.
Transparency and Legal Issues
Partnerships with police allow Ring to operate as a private surveillance network without accountability, according to Max Isaacs, a senior law professor at New York University School of Law and co-author of a human rights audit of Ring that took nearly two years to complete. “At a minimum,” Isaacs said, “the police should go to the city council, they should get budget approval to set up these cameras. But when private individuals set up their own surveillance networks and hand over the data to the police, these democratic checks have been bypassed.”
Impact of Smart Doorbells on Package Theft
Package theft, or “porch piracy,” is one of the issues surrounding smart doorbells. According to SafeWise, over 119 million packages were stolen in 2023. However, estimates vary, according to Stickle, who works with the SafeWise Advisory Council. There is very little data on the extent and scope of package theft, and the phenomenon is relatively under-researched, he said. “It doesn’t take a specific skill to stand there and take a package. The risks of getting caught and arrested are also very low.”
The Impact
On Public Policy
The increase in the number of smart doorbell devices is affecting laws and public policies, according to a report in October 2022 based on interviews with users of smart doorbell cameras and delivery workers. “We have seen a significant increase in municipalities that are trying to raise penalties for package theft or create new penalties for package theft, some classify it as criminal offenses that could lead to imprisonment,” said Aiha Nguyen, director of the Future of Work initiative at Data & Society, a nonprofit organization focusing on public policy and emerging technologies.
Use of Smart Doorbells in Akron
By mid-October, all smart doorbells had been distributed except for six out of a total of 460 devices, said the chair of the Akron City Council’s safety committee, Joan Williams, in an email to Undark. “In response to high demand for the cameras, we are exploring the possibility of expanding the program in the first quarter of 2024,” wrote Williams.
However, according to a police statement, “while we are continually looking for opportunities to use technology, including Ring Doorbell cameras, wherever available, no specific cases involving Ring have directly assisted, according to investigators.”
Just one day after the shooting on June 26 on Gridley Road that injured two women, an 80-year-old man was shot in Akron. The elderly man was reported to be helping a woman change her car tire in front of her house when three men pulled up in a multi-colored SUV and opened fire, according to Cleveland 19 News.
Once again, the shooting was recorded by a neighbor’s smart doorbell camera. No arrests have been reported.
This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.
Rood McCollum is a science writer whose work has appeared in Nature, Scientific American, The Atlantic, The Nation, and Undark magazine, among others.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-video-doorbells-really-prevent-crime/
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