The Use of Closed-Circuit Television and Video in Suicide Prevention: Narrative Review and Future Directions

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Computer Vision
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Suicide is a major global public health concern, claiming approximately 800,000 lives annually.
• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) and video technologies have found diverse applications in crisis assessment and suicide attempt detection.
• A comprehensive review of CCTV and video in suicide research and interventions was previously lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review existing literature on the use of CCTV and video data in understanding and preventing suicide.
• To identify gaps in current research, specifically the lack of systems for detecting pre-attempt behaviors.
• To report on ongoing research utilizing computer vision for early identification of suicidal behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a literature search using keywords "suicide," "cctv," and "video" across PubMed, Inspec, and Web of Science.
• Included all studies utilizing CCTV or video footage for suicide understanding or prevention, irrespective of study quality.
• Noted methodological limitations in the reviewed studies to provide context for findings.

Main Results:

• CCTV and video have been applied in three primary ways: identifying suicide risk factors, analyzing post-attempt behavior (forensic applications), and enabling real-time interventions via automated systems.
• Emerging research focuses on using computer vision to detect pre-attempt behaviors in high-risk locations.
• This work addresses a critical gap identified in the literature regarding proactive suicide prevention.

Conclusions:

• CCTV and video technologies are pivotal in developing automated suicide detection systems for early intervention.
• Significant progress is being made in creating systems to identify pre-attempt behaviors, offering potential for timely interventions.
• The field is advancing towards automated solutions for suicide prevention, despite existing challenges.