Abstract
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In 2005, the Anderson County Tennessee Sheriff’s Department decided to put up a webcam of their jailhouse that anyone can access. The social implications of this webcam are immense. This study examines one specific aspect; counting and classifying arrestees by skin tone
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Introduction
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The motivation for studying this webcam was that it monitors our criminal system, which some consider flawed. Furthermore, the data gathered in this report is interesting because it deals with a controversial topic, the privacy of individuals that have been arrested.
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Methods
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In this report the number of arrestees and their skin tone was recorded manually. Arrestees were identified by their attire(either blue or orange jumpsuits). Skin tone was determined by placing each arrestee into one of the following categories(see diagram below). A possible confounder is shadow in the webcam; however, the booking area is extremely well lit so it is not much of an issue
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Results
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Out of 39 Arrestees observed on the webcam, 58.9 % of arrestees have light skin tone, 20.5% have medium skin tone and 20.5% have dark skin tone. Acquiring this data took 7 hours and 13 minutes over a 2-day period on March 29th and 30th.
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Privacy
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By law, anyone who is accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Arrestees are only charged of a crime but not yet convicted of one. This webcam, by broadcasting the booking process of arrestees, seemingly contradicts the fundamental ideals and protections allotted by our laws.
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References
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Camera: https://www.tnasco.net/cont/jailcam.php
US Census Bureau. Tennessee QuickFacts. https://quickfacts.census.gov [2000]
Project Paper (PDF)
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