Security camera use is deterring crime.

For more than a decade, video surveillance of public places has been a fact of life in Great Britain. There are more than 100,000 cameras watching street corners, parks, parking lots, public housing projects, and municipal buildings. Some smaller towns are entirely under the watchful eye of security cameras. In France, many museums, hospitals, subway stations, and other public sites are monitored. In both countries, city after city has reported significant reductions in crimes against people and property.

Over the past few years, the use of video surveillance in public areas has spread to cities in the U.S. Government agencies, merchant groups, and private citizens are taking advantage of new technology in an attempt to rid their neighborhoods of crime, reports the Security Industry Association. Recent technological advances have made this possible. Very sensitive color cameras now are available, offering identification-quality images that previously were impossible with black-and-white cameras. Video transmission through fiber optic cable and/or standard telephone lines allows high-quality images to be sent miles away. Advancements in imaging and recording technologies also have contributed to the interest in urban surveillance.

Police in Tacoma, Wash., were among the first in the U.S. to use urban surveillance. In 193, security cameras were mounted in one crime-ridden neighborhood. Monitoring of open-air drug and prostitution markets helped police make 55 arrests in the first three months of the program. in Baltimore, 16 security cameras were installed in a historic 16-square-block area near the city's redeveloped inner harbor and Orioles Park at Camden Yards baseball stadium. The area is...