Security Footage

The introduction of security footage in courtrooms as evidence is increasingly common. With the number of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras rising, the likelihood of images deemed relevant for criminal proceedings being recorded also increases. However, while CCTV footage may arguably have assisted in achieving 1 in some high-profile cases, can it assist in the overall reduction of violence against women? A well-known example in Australia of CCTV helping solve a crime is the footage pulled from a shop on Sydney Road the night Jill Meagher was raped and murdered by Adrian Bayley. This footage was mentioned in his sentencing in 2013. In the same year, Simon Gittany was found 2 of the murder of his partner Lisa Harnum. CCTV footage – taken from his own security cameras – was again 3 as key evidence. Beyond the courtroom, news media reports of crime are saturated with the use of CCTV footage. In both contexts, it is often seen to be 4 – an authoritative and objective witness that can tell us “what really happened”. While used in a range of offenses, its inclusion in instances of extreme (and public) violence against women can mean certain images receive significant and sustained media 5, and may remain online indefinitely. The strength of CCTV in our public consciousness is such that questions of privacy are often dismissed as inconsequential. CCTV installed in the homes of family violence victims has even been considered.