Smile: You're Probably On Candid Camera!

If you’re as old as me or older, you may remember the early reality TV show “Candid Camera” with host Allen Funt.

It was a very funny show and ahead of its time, as many other similar shows have followed.

But it was essentially about setting up a hidden camera and creating situations where people would react to something potentially silly and embarrassing. Such as positioning an elephant outside a telephone booth:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Candid+Camera+Episodes+1960s&&view=detail&mid=5EE5B006D25AA6AE832A5EE5B006D25AA6AE832A&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DCandid%2BCamera%2BEpisodes%2B1960s%26FORM%3DVRIBQP

Fast forward to today and the unabated proliferation of surveillance cameras in public places: Walmart parking lots, convenience store counters, hotel lobbies, banks (of course) — just about everywhere.

People used to generally be against cameras in public places, saying they “Didn’t want Big Brother watching them.” (Big Brother was not-so-secret code for The Government.)

Public cameras were invading their privacy -- they believed -- tracking their every move with who-knows-what motive.

But over time, that view seems to have changed.

Today, most people take for granted the presence of these cameras, which are mainly unpretentious and little noticed. These people have figured out the cameras aren’t the eyes of some malevolent agency trying to put them in jail or worse.

Also, generations have grown up being very comfortable around cameras of all types and not at all hesitant to share those photos — even the most embarrassing — with the world.

But these CC (closed circuit) cameras have also shown themselves to be a fantastically useful tool for law enforcement.

If you’ve seen the TV show “See No Evil,” it’s clear that closed circuit cameras are sometimes the ONLY way to solve a crime — especially a murder where there was no witness or other clues to help track down the killer.

Due to the continuing proliferation of CC cameras, police can check footage from nearby cameras and keep following a logical escape route with other cameras positioned along that route.

It’s groundbreaking 21st century law enforcement and helping to solve more and more crimes, according to Tara Elwood, a producer of the show when it debuted in 2014.

“It’s very current, because the electronic eye is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. There are eyes everywhere now.

“You get your first clue from your first camera, then you can literally follow the crime all around town,” Elwood said. “You think there’s only one camera or two cameras -- then suddenly discover that they’re everywhere.”

I don’t know about you, but I like the fact that these cameras are so ubiquitous. If I was a crook or someone with evil intent, I’d undoubtedly hate and fear them.

But as a law-abiding citizen, they make me feel just a little safer.

So — 50 years later — I’m smiling to be on these candid cameras.