Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Have some people in each city manually count the number of cameras over some area, then extrapolate from there. This assumes a uniform distribution where one isn't obvious. Some places are bound to have more security than others.
If you cut up the municipality into uniform sizes, and then randomly sample from that to do your counts it should account for that problem I think.
Is that true? I'd only guess there are more cameras in Times Square than Wastingtion Square in NYC. I don't know how you would divide most cities into areas of uniform camera coverage such that totaling one area is representative of all other areas in that city. Most cities have several hot spots