Parking at work this morning, I immediately noticed a security guard squatting at the street corner across the street, carefully studying - nothing in particular, or so it seemed. I went inside and carefully watched him from behind a glass window, until he got up and walked away.
It's interesting how alert we get on the street if we are under the impression we are being watched. I remember when I was first employed here at work, we needed to get some statistics on how much time people typically require once they have started their cars to start moving out of their parking spaces. So, we sent a well-dressed employee with a stop watch and a notebook into random downtown Sacramento parking lots to gather that data.
Turns out, people radically change their behavior when being watched. Many peeled out of their parking spaces in no time flat. Others sullenly idled and stared back. No one behaved 'normally'. They were all on their guard.
And that's one reason street cameras are all the rage.
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