Cost-benefit analysis of surveillance technologies

There are several types of surveillance devices in the market, each with its own operating characteristics. Since the terrorist attack of 9/11 there has been much focus on preventing or mitigating damages and causalities caused by terrorist activities. A key issue is whether the investment in fighting crime and counter-terrorism devices is well spent in a manner that optimizes public safety in a cost-effective manner. SURVEILLE is a research project funded within the EU Commission FP7 framework where one of the objectives is to assess the benefits and costs of surveillance technology. This paper reports on ongoing work of cost-benefit modelling for security that is performed within in this project. This paper provides a brief overview of the quantification method for cost-benefit models for security devices. Currently, a straightforward and easy-to-use cost-benefit analysis of surveillance technologies is not available. A cost-benefit model considering probabilistic terrorism risk assessment is developed. The model developed here considers probability of attack, risk reduction, losses, and costs of security devices. However, it is found that a full cost-benefit analysis requires a substantial effort, even for a single surveillance device which may be difficult in operational organizations such as the Police. A brief discussion on mathematical modelling is shown in this paper. But more detail discussion can be found in the SURVEILLE project report that is available through the website¹. Special attention was given to "cost" modelling of the security device in this paper. The paper ends with discussions of the use of cost modelling in a (semi-)quantitative cost-benefit analysis for surveillance. We are currently performing a case for the remainder of the SURVEILLE project, but cannot disclose the results. These results will be available on the SURVEILLE website later during the project.