Security cameras are meant to deter as much as they record, and for every camera out there, there’s someone watching the feed. When a netizen took to Reddit to ask for the craziest things security personnel had caught people doing on camera, the responses rolled in. Explore the top 30 in this listicle!
More info: Reddit
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When netizen TeeKay4273 reached out to the Reddit community inviting them to share their stories, not much could have prepared them for the slew of crazy, funny, and downright weird things people have been caught doing in public when they thought nobody was watching. From driving around throwing slices of cheese at cars to crashing a helicopter during a hover test, you couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.
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Had an issue with a new guard on site apparently not realizing he was on camera. I was doing a second night of training with the guy, asked him if he was comfortable with the rounds, guy says yeah and wanders off to do a round solo.
So I'm watching cameras and monitoring the phone, I see guard walk by, he stops, ok he seems a bit lost but it happens to all of us... Dude sticks his hand down the front of his pants and just goes to town. He is digging his crotch for about 30 or so seconds, he then walks down the hall and into the kitchen. So guy returns to the desk and tries to hand me the keys, I tell him due to covid we are to sanitize keys when they change hands, so I douse those things with Lysol like my life depended on it.
We are sitting and he is asking me questions, soon the questions turn to the cameras on each floor. He is pointing at each and asking where they are... We get to the one and I tell him it is located right outside the kitchens. Dude just stares blankly at me for a second and then asks if he can go out for a smoke break. I tell him that we are a smoke free facility so if he wants to smoke he will have to go across the street where the nurses go. He says cool, back in 5... Never see the guy again. Told the supervisor the next morning when he asked how training went. The company couldn't reach him and apparently never got uniforms back.
While there are plenty of cameras in the West, it's worth taking a closer look at the state of surveillance in China, the most advanced and widespread worldwide.
It’s estimated that China’s mass surveillance system, “Skynet”, consists of over 540 million closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. That’s more than half of all CCTV cameras on the planet (or roughly one camera for every 2.7 citizens) and more than the number listed in this 2023 article by The Economist.
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This sprawling network of cameras comes equipped with sophisticated facial recognition technology that can match people’s faces with government databases of biometric info, including DNA. It’s so cutting-edge that it can ID individuals in real-time, at various angles and lighting levels, and even in a crowd.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration plays a critical role in helping humans analyze the mountains of footage the system is capturing. AI algorithms detect behavior such as loitering, littering, and the gathering of crowds.
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#1. Bunk lumber was being unloaded from a flatbed trailer as the driver was on the driver side collecting his tie-down straps. Forklift driver was picking lumber from the opposite side and his forks inadvertently shoved an entire bunk of joists on top of the unaware driver. He unfortunately died of his injuries.
#2. Saw operator reaching across a stack of lumber in the saw and losing his arm just above the elbow. I'll never forget the moment of shock as he just stood there holding his severed arm for what seemed like an eternity.
Going beyond facial recognition, the country has also developed gait recognition technology, which can spot a person based on their walking pattern, allowing for identification even when the person’s face is obscured with say, a facemask, prevalent on the faces of Chinese citizens.
Skynet’s cameras are also capable of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), allowing the government to monitor traffic, enforce tolls, and track persons of interest.
All of this surveillance has led to the development of smart cities, where footage is combined with data from a variety of sources to make city management systems more efficient.
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And old man standing still in a casino lobby... After a moment he shakes his leg and out drops a couple s**t nuggets... He walks on into the casino..
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But what about the social impact of all this surveillance? How do people cope with always being watched?
Not well, it seems. In his 2014 article for The Guardian, Adam Gabbatt reported on tens of thousands of people and organizations participating in a global protest in a response to whistleblower Edward Snowden's leak that the National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on millions of citizens.
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One evening a black bear wanders into the plant through one of the forklift doors (they just have the clear vinyl 'curtains' when operating) The bear finds a stack of freshly-picked berries that hadn't yet been processed and just goes to town. After about 20 minutes I guess they had enough and left the way they came.
Another installation at a bar: A bunch of guys are at a table and a lady enters and heads over to their table in an attempt to sell her wares. Flashes them a couple times, tries to get one guy to feel her up. Seems like they were uninterested in free samples.
Did an install at a hotel several months after an incident with Disney on Ice skaters streaking throughout the building. Apparently the real reason for the camera install was an arson in the underground parking.
11 years later, however, Snowden remains exiled somewhere in Moscow and US intelligence still collects vast amounts of private electronically stored and transmitted information.
So, the next time you feel the urge to dance like nobody’s watching, perhaps it would be best to do it with your clothes on and an eye out for any lenses lurking in corners.
Have you ever been caught on camera doing something silly? Or have you spotted anything crazy on your own CCTV? Let us know in the comments!
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When he came to return the keys me and all the other guards just started laughing.
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Cameras showed a guy walk up at like 2AM, take it apart, and then sit for 10 minutes smoking nasty used butts from it before walking off with the bucket.
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But most common is how people sneak into back rooms for theft/shoplifting. You’ll see someone just dead still on one side of the room or in a side hallway while people just walk past, oblivious to someone like 10 feet away from them. Very horror movie.
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