Flickr / Nicki Varkevisser"Gaze detection" uses psychology to cut down on crime.
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Police in the U.K. are using images of eyeballs as a way to curb crime. So far, the clever move has proved quite effective.
Atlas Obscura points to the concept of eye image compliance, something that police in the West Midlands, UK, have used for the past decade. When law enforcement across the pond began using these signs in 2006, they dubbed the campaign the Orwellian-sounding "Operation Momentum." By 2013, the posters with eyes had apparently helped to decrease theft rates by 40%.
The reason why this happens, experts say, has to do with psychology.
Gaze detection
If you have ever felt like someone is watching or staring at you from the corner of your eye or outside your field of vision, then you are experiencing a brain system called "gaze detection," according to Psychology Today. It's a brain function that alerts us that someone is watching.
In studies that track the activity of single brain cells, researchers have found that when someone stares straight at you, it sparks certain cells to fire, however, when someone gazes just to the right or left then instead different cells fire.
When you communicate, your eyes send signals about your intentions, how you feel, and what you prefer, Psychology Today reports. This explains why eye contact — the most common non-verbal form of communication — is one of our most primal instincts and one that extends to all animal species. In fact, gaze signaling can also be used for expression and dominance — a major asset to both humans and animals.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregorAn armed police officer is seen on duty in Downing Street, central London September 1, 2014. British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he would bring in new laws to give police the power to seize the passports of suspected Iraq and Syria-bound Islamist fighters.
Where you find eyeballs
If you've ever walked off the platform at the Chambers Street-World Trade Center subway stop near Park Place in New York, you might have noticed mosaic eyes surrounding you.
The work, titled 'Oculus,' is a 1998 stone mosaic on walls throughout the station. It's based on photographs of New Yorkers' eyes to represent the diverse people of the city. Artists Andrew Ginzel and Kristin A. Jones described the public art piece in their own words:
"Oculus was created to personalize and integrate the stations. Eyes are both subtle and strong - they engage passing individuals, allowing for meditation or inviting dialogue. The eyes are from the artists' photographs taken in New York , which were selected for the diversity of the subjects' eyes. An enormous central eye set in the floor, grounds the composition and serves as the centerpiece of a map of the world which radiates outward."
At the time "Oculus" debuted in the New York subway station, one of the artists, Kristin A. Jones, explained that the eyes were not meant to gaze or warn people about potential bad behavior.
“The eyes aren't Big Brother,” Kristin A. Jones said. “They're an attempt to humanize the subway station and give New Yorkers an opportunity to look each other in the eye.”
Although the artist might not have wanted the eyeballs to symbol "gaze detection," other people have used the method to cut down on bad behaviors and crime.
In 2013, researchers from Newcastle University in the UK found that when they placed posters at eye level near bicycle racks that indicated "Cycle Thieves: We Are Watching You," thefts declined by 62%. Tom Stafford, a lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Science for the University of Sheffield, explains why the study had two caveats.
- Although researchers reported a 62% drop, researchers also discovered that bicycle thefts increased by 63% at other areas on campus.
- The study's design presented another problem, particularly because the image had text added to it.
“The signs included [both] the university and security service logos [and] a warning message,” Stafford wrote. “We cannot know if these had the effect alone or in combination with the eyes.”
Although this UK study has come under scrutiny, some business are using it as a way to leverage customer interest and promote psychological options when it comes to fending off potential burglars.
MySecuritySign.com, an American security sign company, even offers a premium feature on their sign templates to have eyes that stare and scare potential prowlers.
“We took care in creating eye images that were non-threatening but still distinct,” said Alex Roitman, one of the sign's designers. “If people feel watched, they are more conscious of their actions.”
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