Should I install a video camera on my house to help my neighborhood fight crime?

There’s a meeting in my neighborhood this week where folks will be discussing the installation of video cameras on people’s houses to monitor the streets. These video feeds could be recorded by the police, although I doubt they will be monitored.

This is in response to a series of muggings that have been happening over the last few years. One just happened on one corner of my block, while a burglary at a house at the other end of the block happened last week.

Do you think have cameras around will help? You might want to read this article about the experience of Chicago. It seems that cameras aren’t necessarily helpful, and it really depends how they are used. Although I don’t believe any information in that article rises to the level of science.

Should I support cameras? Be against them? Ignore the whole thing? I fear that this is a knee-jerk response to fear, and people will spend money for nothing, although cameras cost very little these days.