Can video surveillance systems promote the perception of safety? Evidence from surveys on residents in Beijing, China

Ubiquitous utilization of video surveillance systems is supposed to promote safety, yet whether these systems improve the residents' perception of safety is unknown. Moreover, the factors that affect the perception of safety are also unclear. We seek to fill these knowledge gaps via a survey-based study, which aims at evaluating the impact of video surveillance systems on perceived safety from crimes and accidents and on behavioral preferences, as well as the attitudes towards such systems. A total of 1080 residents in Beijing, China are validly surveyed, and the surveys returned are exploited for univariate analysis and regression analysis. The analysis results indicate that female respondents are more accustomed to adopt video surveillance systems, as they feel safer and more comfortable with the existence of surveillance systems. Higher levels of education, greater length of residency, and richer knowledge of surveillance systems tend to increase the perception of safety, while age and monthly income act negatively. The effects of these factors should be considered during the implementation of video surveillance systems and recommendations are given to facilitate the adoption of such systems.