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OJO Safety is a small business safety concept proposed after a 4 month long design research project examining the operations of various convenience stores in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA. We found that the owners were most concerned about shoplifting rather than violent crime and robbery. However, there arises an inherent tension between the store owner in the customer, in that the store owner wants the customer to be aware they are being watched (as to deter shoplifting), but the customer does not want to feel as if they are being watched. In conjunction with secondary physological reserach, we found that pictures of people looking at the customer are effective in deterring shoplifting similarly to the presence of security cameras and mirrors. Hence, the team proposed this community friendly installation, named OJO Safety, which is an installation of banners depicting children that also utilizes revenue-generating advertising space for the store owner.

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