Big Brother is watching: Russia to mandate cameras in all lifts
Surveillance cameras in lifts are designed to enhance passenger safety and reduce incidents of vandalism.
Surveillance cameras have been proposed for mandatory installation in all lifts. This initiative was put forward by Sergei Kolunov, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on construction and housing and communal services.
«Today, cameras are not everywhere even in new construction, and this needs to be corrected. It is worth considering the possibility of legally prescribing the obligation for developers to install lifts with cameras. We have already approached the Ministry of Construction with this proposal,» the deputy told TASS.
According to him, the presence of surveillance cameras in lifts not only ensures the safety of citizens but also helps prevent vandalism.
«Often in the news we read about how someone was attacked, robbed, and so on in a lift. In such situations, surveillance cameras are certainly necessary, otherwise the circumstances of what happened cannot be established,» the parliamentarian emphasized.
The very awareness among citizens that their actions may be recorded on camera is a powerful deterrent. This theory has been tested repeatedly. For example, according to a study conducted in 2004 by researchers Brandon Welsh from the University of Massachusetts and David Farrington from the University of Cambridge, in areas where surveillance cameras were installed, street crime decreased by 21%. The greatest reduction occurred in parking lots and places where, in addition to cameras, there was good lighting.
