CCTV, Systematic Social Observation, and Understanding Drug Markets: Prospects and Challenges for Research

• In Event: Crime Caught on Camera II

Abstract

Survey and interview research have greatly contributed to the literature on the illicit drug trade. The widespread installation of CCTV in public places presents the opportunity to further build upon this knowledge base through direct observation of criminal behavior. This presentation draws upon two studies that used CCTV footage to study drug market activity in Newark, NJ. Researchers systematically viewed and coded footage of drug transactions to explore the ways in which sellers use defensive actions to protect themselves from apprehension or victimization. Findings suggest that tenets of opportunity theory explain drug seller behaviors, with drug sellers acting and guardians and place mangers on their own behalf. Further, in an effort to explore the decision-making process of the drug seller, and identify points in the process where a target-hardening intervention may fit, CCTV footage was used to develop a crime script for public drug selling. These studies demonstrate the rich understanding of crime that CCTV can afford criminologists. However, despite the high level of validity that CCTV as a data source affords, methodological issues do arise; including inter-rater reliability issues, technical and logistic issues, and the threat to construct validity, which may be inherent in data of this nature.

Authors

• Eric L. Piza, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Victoria Sytsma, Queen's University