Nicholas Kow (13) 1st Entry, Topic 1

CCT surveillance will benefit the society in the long term as it ensures that criminal tracking is enhanced, allowing the authorities to keep law and order in the country. Furthermore, these cameras installed can discourage crimes because criminals will be more wary and think twice in the future before they commit crimes. The convenience of these cameras are also very useful since a police officer can view more places within a shorter period of time as compared to physically patrolling every street and area. If a crime is committed in a group, the police can also view their movements through these cameras at different areas, increasing their chances of nabbing the criminals. 

However, there are always disadvantages. In this case, new technological gadgets are relatively expensive as of now so it may cause the state a lot of money to set up so many cameras and the labour cost in operating them. This money could have been used for other purposes such as healthcare and education for the people. Not everyone wants to be tracked by the police all the time as well as it intrudes into one's privacy and freedom. Therefore, for the long term security of the people, the country needs to reinforce the idea that importance of national security against crimes and terrorism is worth the money and effort. They need to understand that privacy is worthwhile to be traded for better security. 

If this were to be implemented in Singapore now when there's an economic downturn, many Singaporeans taxpayers will grumble but so long as the Singapore government can promise to ensure that these cameras are put to good use, I am confident many Singaporeans are willing to sacrifice their privacy for security. Furthermore, Singapore being much smaller in size as compared to other countries and states, fewer cameras will be needed and lesser money will be spent. Instead of installing too many cameras everywhere, the Singapore government can step up its crime-prevention programmes within the local community. Only civic-minded and vigilant citizens with good governance can ensure long term security.

In conclusion, I believe the long term advantages of CCT surveillance outweigh the disadvantages and it depends on the co-operation of the people to allow it to successfully boost our security.