Surveillance: the Art of Spying

A few thousand years ago, spying was used against enemies in order to gather information that would be helpful to quell their invasions or to record their suspicious activities. Today, that much hasn't changed. Aside from the word new term "surveillance", the only thing that is different is the toys that are used and the people allowed to observe others.

Surveillance comes in two forms, the covert and overt. Covert means that people are being watched without their knowledge and overt means that they are informed of being watched. In a society that is more sensitive about their privacy, it comes to no surprise why people choose surveillance methods to protect themselves and their properties.

But beyond security, surveillance is also a way of monitoring how people behave, what things they have with them. In hospitals, it refers to the monitoring of public health. This is especially important because monitoring diseases can help doctors isolate their causes as well as their sources.

Surveillance also refers to more than just observing visually. There are ways to listen in on conversations as well, such as telephone tapping or through other covert listening devices. However, this is more invasive than just capturing video images of something going on. Telephone tapping is something that only police authorities are legally allowed to do and even then they still need permission, or a warrant, to apply it.

Although sophisticated technology comes into mind when the word surveillance is used, it can actually be as low-tech as using a pair of binoculars or a telescope to observe something from afar. But for a more precise observation, a lot of digital equipment is used. For example, in many cities in the United States and other developed nations, Closed-Circuit Television cameras are used in the streets to observe the public. These are also known as CCTVs. These are especially helpful in matters of law enforcement and are also used by many security companies to install into private areas such as homes and small businesses.

There is a new type of video observation that is also gaining attention by many security groups and defense departments around the world. It is called "intelligent video". This type of technology involves the use of sophisticated software that uses the camera and microphones to detect very specific actions. For example, the software can trigger an alarm when it observes something wrong is going on in a public street. This feature will allow for faster response times from local police departments in the area. This feature is made possible by present-day motion detection technologies. Microphone technology is now also becoming more advanced and can pick up on single words that are spoken in crowds. But this kind of technology can also be very invasive especially if people are not aware that it is operative. However, in a society that fears crime, it may just be very useful and people may just have to deal with sacrificing a little of their privacy for it to be able to work. This, of course, still is the subject of many debates.