# Is it possible to get away with this lie, with today's technology?



## ironpony (Nov 12, 2017)

My story is a crime thriller set in modern times.  But I find it really difficult to write cause there are surveillance cameras everywhere in today's world it seems.  Basically a woman has to lie about meeting a guy and going home to spend the night with him on a certain day, even though it didn't happen.  

And this is what makes it tricky, cause how does one meet a guy without the police being able to find out if it's true or not, with today's cameras?   Bars and nightclubs, all have cameras, and a lot of them have ID scanners now to, to see who came in and out.  Even coffee shops have cameras.

She could say she met him on a street, and pick a street where no camera is going to see her, but then her story sounds really convenient that she would go home with some stranger off the street, on a street where no camera could pick her up with the guy.

But what do you think?  Is creating an alibi like this, that cannot be caught in a lie, possible?


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## moderan (Nov 12, 2017)

Hire someone to wear the same clothes as your mc. Work with the tech. Cameras aren't foolproof -- nothing is. Fools are ingenious.


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## ironpony (Nov 12, 2017)

Okay thanks.  But she has to come up with the lie after the time she is lying about being in.  Like she comes up with the lie to lie to the police about, afterwards, and cannot go back in time, and have someone be there with the same clothes on.  So the event has already passed and there is no one to hire to go back in time and be there unfortunately.   She will have to come up with a lie, that the police will by, without being able to have a double be there at that time.


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## moderan (Nov 12, 2017)

Well, it's possible. That has been clearly demonstrated. You got your character into this corner. Now get em out.


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## Jack of all trades (Nov 13, 2017)

Security footage isn't kept forever. It's saved only if something happens. On uneventful days, it's not saved, and the storage device is reused. So, if the meeting that never happened took place long enough ago, then the recording of it would be recorded over. Such recordings can be retrieved, but it is difficult and therefore expensive. So it wouldn't be retrieved unless murder, or something equally serious, is involved.


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## ironpony (Nov 13, 2017)

Okay thanks.  Well I don't know if waiting a long time will work though.  Because when you go to hook up with someone from the bar or something like that, you don't just say, want to do it in a few months.  You go home that night.  And if they waited till later, then there is a record of phone calls and text messages she has to worry about adding up, cause you would obviously call or text to confirm for later.  So not sure that waiting till months or weeks later really solves anything.


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## Skodt (Nov 13, 2017)

Where is your character staying that this is all relevant? I have been all across America and find it rare that scanners are used for ID's in bars (actually never come across this). I also find it not as prevelant to have street cams everywhere for pedestrians. There are some, mostly traffic cams, but open servaliance isn't used for just normal street walking. Plus, like an above poster stated, there will be tons of footage in a bigger industry like a popular bar, so they tend to reuse drive space. Also, how likely is it that a detective unit, even if they got the footage, would be able to deduce who was all at the bar at any given time? The fact is that most bars, even those with cameras, don't tend to have detailed footage of everything going on. Most will just watch the register and possible the bar to make sure no one is stealing. There are also cameras on any slot machines, but they monitor the use of said machines.


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## andrewclunn (Nov 13, 2017)

Don't set your story in the UK.  Lots of private industries buy fake security cameras that don't actually do anything as a deterrent.  Hard drive failures happen.  Many small firms only keep footage for a few weeks if there's no reason to hold onto it.  Plenty of blind spots.  And since it's not her lying and saying she wasn't there when she was, but the other way around, it means they have to prove a negative, which is way way harder.


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## ironpony (Nov 13, 2017)

Oh okay, sounds like I should set it in the UK then, so she can get away with the lies easier. No I was thinking of setting it in Canada, where I live, or maybe the U.S.  Not sure which city though.  I might just set it in a nameless metropolis of modern times, but I want it to be taken as the real world, even if it's not 100 percent accurate.


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## VonBradstein (Nov 13, 2017)

ironpony said:


> My story is a crime thriller set in modern times.  But I find it really difficult to write cause there are surveillance cameras everywhere in today's world it seems.  Basically a woman has to lie about meeting a guy and going home to spend the night with him on a certain day, even though it didn't happen.
> 
> And this is what makes it tricky, cause how does one meet a guy without the police being able to find out if it's true or not, with today's cameras?   Bars and nightclubs, all have cameras, and a lot of them have ID scanners now to, to see who came in and out.  Even coffee shops have cameras.
> 
> ...



Not to upset the cart, but there are settings you could consider where security cameras are not as prevalent.

I️ live in a city in semi-rural Ohio. We do have some cameras here in the obvious places - ATMs, jewelry stores, etc but we do not have them covering every corner of every street. One of the things that shocked me when I️ lived in London is how many cameras there are. Like, it’s an unusually high number. Pretty sure no other city of similar size employs that number or covers as many areas. I️ understand this was largely an initiative started due to cost savings vs having as much police on the street. The size of the city, local law, and (perhaps most of all) budgets for law enforcement and public safety tend to dictate camera usage vs a higher police presence. 

I’m not suggesting you set your plot here obviously but perhaps look at alternate settings? I’m sure even in big cities in developing countries - Eastern Europe, for instance - there is probably patchier camera coverage. Cameras are extremely expensive to set up in a wide area and require monitoring and maintenance. Most countries, especially ones with a lower cost of living, weaker police unions, and hence lower wages for public safety officers would likely tend to just have more cops (or even more crime) than bother with that kind of investment.

Another option would be to insert a coincidence that would make the camera coverage temporarily unavailable? Perhaps the camera covering that area was simply not working? Perhaps it was sabotaged? These kinds of micro details well executed can solve problems easily. It does happen. I’m thinking of that (likely apocryphal) story of the lookouts on the titanic forgetting their binoculars on the one night they might have saved the ship. As long as you don’t make it too absurd or overuse it, a handy little “it just so happened that...” can work.

Lastly, perhaps most obviously, consider changing the time period. Not back to the Middle Ages but maybe to the seventies or something? Widespread CCTV in useful definition is a relatively new thing. Even thirty years back the images were so shoddy it was difficult to see anything. Plus because it was on actual tapes that needed changed, maintained and archived few cameras recorded long periods of time and tended to tape over themselves.


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## Jack of all trades (Nov 13, 2017)

My point was covered already by other posters, so there's no point repeating it. Good luck with this!


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