The Simpsons and Chicago Surveillance

I'm a huge fan of The Simpsons.  Especially what you would call "classic" episodes from seasons 3 - 6.  I say classic because many argue the show jumped the shark back in season 9 (1997) with the infamous "Principal and the Pauper" episode where Principal Skinner was revealed to be an impostor. While I don't agree the show necessarily jumped the shark then, I would agree that the show lost its luster somewhere around season 10.  Admittedly I have barely watched what you would call a "new" episode of the Simpsons since season 13.

With that said I recently had a flash of Simpsons nostalgia that made me want to see how bad the new episodes really were.  With most of the episode streams being blocked due to copyright infringement claims, I was forced to watch the 5 most "recent" episodes on Hulu.  What I found was that The Simpsons was infinitely better than I remember it to be in its declining years.  I also found a very relevant episode, "To Surveil With Love," (though I'm definitely late to this one considering it aired back on May 2nd) that dealt with the highly popular use of fear by the Government in order to justify increased security measures that don't necessarily curb crime. Some, like the ACLU, and others (here, and here,) argue that these cameras do more to infringe on our privacy than deter criminals.  Instead of putting money into a costly surveillance system that monitors more "good" citizens than bad, it is argued that the money should instead be spent on hiring more officers, jails/prisons, forensics, etc.

The security camera issue is especially abundant here in Chicago with Operation Virtual Shield.  With the increasing number of surveillance cameras being added to both private and public areas around the city, it is  clear that Mayor Daley and pals want to be able to see our every move.  In fact he is even quoted as saying he would like to see a camera on every street corner by 2016.  The city now has more than 10,000 cameras, one of the most extensive networks in the nation.   U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently pronounced it "one of the top two or three in the United States." So we should be safe in the city, right?

Well the short answer is, it depends. If you already feel safe in the city, and you're not worried about that pesky crime called murder, you should still feel relatively safe.  According to the Chicagopolice.org's official stats,  Chicago's notoriously high murder rates in 2010 are down 1.5% through July while total violent crime is down 10.9%.  However,  the murder per capita rate is still at a horrendous level. In 2009 only 13 more people were murdered in New York while nearly 3 times the amount of people live there. 

Also, between 2008 and 2009, according to the Chicagopolice.org crime statistics, violent crimes were down a total of 6.6% with murder being down 10.5%.  Is this the work of the cameras though?  Its really hard to say considering the amount of variables that lead to crime and crime prevention.  Also, Chicago's crime has been on a downward trend since 2002, so maybe policing strategies put into place well before the cameras were installed are finally paying off. However, if the cameras are working, why is Chicago's murder rate still so high? And why are 2010's murder rates similarly in line with 2009's after such a sharp decrease from 2008?

Its too bad that many questions like those will have to wait until all the facts and data are in.  With such a small sample to work with, its unfortunately too early to tell whether or not we're entering a realization of Orwell's police state or the future of crime prevention strategies. 

UPDATE

Ironically, after a little research, I found this episode is considered another jump the shark moment.  It was argued here back in May that the opening credits were an embarrassing mix of bad pop-culture reference and contrived  message board fodder.   

Bear with the commercials as this is one of the funnier, more relevant "new" Simpsons episodes I've seen in a long time.