Allegedly, there are more than 5,000 cases of sex crimes using a hidden camera annually. More and more crimes happen not only in the subway or public toilet, but also at accommodations especially motel. This situation shocks many people these days.
There were incidents that make crimes using hidden camera at motel. One is that a representative of a famous accommodation support distribution of illegal porn on the Internet. Someone installed hidden camera in many motels and broadcasted the video on the internet. People used the accommodations since they publicized as a “safe zone from hidden camera,” but now consumers think that there is no safe motels. Also, people now are worried of the broadcasting incident.
Before the incidents, people thought that they can prevent such crimes by staying at certified accommodations, but staying at accommodations without any worries is almost impossible nowadays. According to the research about awareness of safety from hidden camera, nine out of ten are worrying about hidden camera when they are staying at motels. In the past, women were the ones who usually worried about the hidden-camera crime. However, now many men think that they could also be directly targeted by such crimes.
The government is contemplating over how to deal with the crime raging war regarding hidden cameras. The main effort so far is to crack down hidden cameras and illegal porn website. Female polices are intensively cracking down on hidden cameras in public toilet, and some government offices are renting detectors for free. Furthermore, the government has made strong countermeasures against illegal sites recently. There was a strong opposition because some of the normal website were also subject to regulatory restrictions and there was a controversy over the violation of the privacy of the public.
As such, we could not just ban micro cameras easily. Although they have recently been abused as a tool of crime, micro cameras also have a positive aspect. Also, there is no way to know what intention the purchaser has when he or she buys it. Most of all, micro cameras have been used long before the crime become a serious problem. This means that the problem is not the micro camera itself. Of course, as the public opinion about the micro camera is getting worse, the e-commerce industries, which mainly sell it, said they would strengthen its monitoring system. Some of them announced that they will stop selling products that could possibly be used illegally.
There are three things that I really think should be solved. First, a punishment level for sex crime using hidden cameras should be fortified. Increasing the severity of the punishment is not only the role of retribution but also the role of prevention. The present punishment intensity does not achieve both retribution and prevention. The reason I think why the intensity of the punishment in the beginning is low and not easily strengthened is that the lack of empathy for the pain of the victim. Victims are hurt in comparison to perpetrators who live life well and are suffering shame and the trauma. These results can never be called justice.
Second, police's appropriate response is needed when the victim states the situation. If the cop is a male, it is embarrassing to explain what happened. The trained female police should handle the case not to hurt the victim again in the process of filing the report. If the victim is not properly handled in the situation who is psychologically vulnerable, it may worsen the victim’s psychological condition, so the special care is vital.
Finally, early sex education is important. This is the most fundamental solution. Recently, elementary students are experiencing problems related to viewing or producing pornography. We need to think about the cause of this phenomenon. Many people see the cause as indiscreet media exposure. We should educate these children constantly in order to create a proper mindset, so that they can “feel” guilty rather than “think” that it is guilty.