Editing Webcam (section)

=== Monitoring ===
[[File:Webcam (5282372873).jpg|left|thumb|Webcam mounted on a building, used as a [[Closed-circuit television|CCTV]]]]
Webcams can be used as [[security camera]]s. Software is available to allow PC-connected cameras to watch for movement and sound, recording both when they are detected. These recordings can then be saved to the computer, e-mailed, or uploaded to the Internet. In one well-publicised case,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4272041.stm Serial burglar caught on webcam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209131938/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4272041.stm |date=2006-12-09 }} [[BBC News]], February 16, 2005, retrieved January 3, 2006.</ref> a computer e-mailed images of the burglar during the theft of the computer, enabling the owner to give police a clear picture of the burglar's face even after the computer had been stolen.

In December 2011, Russia announced that 290,000 Webcams would be installed in 90,000 polling stations to monitor the [[2012 Russian presidential election]].<ref>[https://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2012/01/16/russia-election-webcams-linked-to-site-blamed-for-piracy/ Russia Election Webcams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922011049/https://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2012/01/16/russia-election-webcams-linked-to-site-blamed-for-piracy/ |date=2017-09-22 }} ''The Wall Street Journal'', January 16, 2012.</ref> Webcams may be installed at places such as childcare centres, offices, shops and private areas to monitor security and general activity.