How Smart Is This? Advance Warning that Security Cameras Will Not be Operating

We recently received a campus-wide e-mail, telling us, in part:

On [date deleted], wireless in the building will experience two brief outages as well as a number of the cameras on the Camera surveillance system.

Ignore the issue of how the announcement is worded [how does wireless experience a number of cameras? But one assumes the notice means that security cameras will be inoperable.].

Given that so much theft that occurs is carried out by people who have inside information,  is it really wise to announce this in advance?

Or is this announcement a ploy to entice thieves to attempt to steal something so they can be caught? If this is the case, one suspects there has been a rash of campus thefts leading up to such a strategy.

And if it is a ploy, does my writing about the possibility have any impact on its likely success?

Or do I just watch too many crime shows on television?

Comments

[Jeff H]

That's bizarre, I can't imagine anything good would come of telling everyone when the security cameras will be shut down.

[Fraser Summerfield]

My opinion, this is smart. Here is why:

I have heard, and I may be wrong because I cannot cite anything here, but if survelance is publicized it may lead individuals to rely upon it for personal safety and/or the safety of their belongings. In the event that a loss is suffered and survalence was falsely advertised there may arise a situation where some form of expectations damages have occurred, because in the presence of expected survalence the individual took less percaution than they otherwise would have.

(disclaimer about poor ability to explain this in economics terms given time constraints)

i.e. if the students maximize some sort of utility function in a smooth fashion, which includes "safety" and consumption of other goods or leisure, and then a crime takes place but the security was false, the student was actually consuming an inefficient amount of "safety".
I am sure Posner could explain this properly, perhaps putting him in the running for next years nobel!

If you worked out cost beneft analysis, i bet expected losses from liability law suits exceed expected pety theft. Assuming this includes the social science centre (which is open after hours, but contains very little to steal (at least on the 4th floor).