A talk with crime researcher Eric Piza (site: ericpiza.net) about how the ability to record people’s actions (e.g., video surveillance, personal cameras) has affected people’s willingness to commit crimes. Topics discussed include: what research tells us about video surveillance and crime reduction; what factors make the presence of video surveillance more likely to be effective; the effectiveness of police body cams at preventing bad behaviors; some practical ideas for how one might discourage crime at one’s property; and the role guns may play in U.S. police violence.
Episode links:
Resources related to this topic or mentioned in this episode:
- Eric Piza’s website and research
- Article about impact of cell phones on crime reduction
- Piza et al’s research on more police foot patrol decreasing crime
- Vox article about the case for hiring more police officers
- My interviews with a police captain on police issues: Part 1 | Part 2
- OurWorldInData.org project examining violence over human history
- Article about how photography helped end child labor in U.S.
- Article about role of photography and film in American civil rights movement