How effective are residential CCTV systems: Evaluating the impact of natural versus mechanical surveillance on house break-ins and theft in hotspots of Penang Island, Malaysia

Abstract

There has been limited empirical attention to the date on the effectiveness of mechanical surveillance and natural surveillance, both individually and in combination, on burglaries at residential properties, particularly in non-Western contexts. Moreover, few studies examine natural and/or mechanical surveillance as multi-dimensional concepts in residential settings. Hence, the present study sought to measure natural surveillance provided by physical elements of the houses—including windows view, entrance visibility, courtyard visibility, and landscape visibility—and mechanical surveillance devices such as CCTV camera and house lighting, in burglarized and non-burglarized houses. 456 detached houses from a medium-high socio-economic housing estate located in residential burglary hotspots in Penang Island, Malaysia, were surveyed and observed. PLS-SEM analysis using Warp-PLS software was used to analyse the collected data. The findings showed that the architectural and landscape elements of the houses have a greater impact on reducing residential burglary than CCTV systems. However, lighting installations as a form of mechanical surveillance had a very high impact in reducing burglaries. The study concludes that natural surveillance is generally more effective in reducing burglaries than mechanical surveillance when examined as independent, multi-dimensional concepts. In the future built environment professionals can use the validated model in this study to estimate the impact of their design on house break-ins in similar contexts. Moreover, these findings suggest national policy changes are required to strengthen and expand the use of natural surveillance among residential planners and developers.