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The Post and Courier reports that Charleston and North Charleston are gearing up to use various types of surveillance cameras to keep a watchful eye on high-crime areas.

Read more stories on this subject in our police topic page. The notion is simple and two-pronged: Police can notice and intervene in bad situations before they escalate, and people tend to behave better when they know they're being watched.

But the question of effectiveness vs. monetary and social cost is not so clear. And, for that, The Post and Courier has done a little digging.

If you find your interest piqued, I suggest this article from the New York Times and this page at Wikipedia.

In somewhat related news, North Charleston police have been using in-car cameras to detect stolen license plates.