More than two years since Scranton paid $220,000 for a dozen police cameras, the surveillance network has been too small and infrequently watched for it to be effective. Nobody in the Police Department can say how many, if any, arrests have resulted from using the cameras, or whether there is any less crime because of them. "There's probably a good chance they're failing at their primary function," said Jerry Ratcliffe, professor and chair of Criminal Justice at Temple. Ratcliffe said in the U.S. there is a lack of rigorous research on whether surveillance cameras actually work. The best are actively monitored, while passive networks like Scranton's are increasingly found to be ineffective, he said.