Updated: Error with numbers of British spy cameras fixed.
CCTV boom ‘failing to cut crime’ reports the BBC.
Dear old BBC. Forgetful as ever. They forget to say CCTV fails to PREVENT crime, for it is crime prevention that is the spy-mad supporters most widely voiced selling point.
And poor old BBC, how they are falling of fact lean times. They report… “Britain had more cameras than any other European country“, oh dear. Lets help them shall we?
Does Britain have more spy cameras than countries in Asia? – YES!
Does Britain have more spy cameras than Australia/NZ? – YES!
South American countries? – YES.
Oceania?, Antarctica, anywhere? inc. North America with the possible exception of the US? – YES!!! Not just European countries but probably EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! But Let’s not be stingy on our assistance here. Let’s help them some more: Britain has more CCTV cameras per head of population than any country in the world.
Credit where credit is due. At least the BBC posts the story.
There it is then. CCTV fails to cut crime, therefore fails to prevent crime. But so what? Such arguments points won’t stop us from having MORE cctv, and more technology that can identify you simply by your gait. {The University of Southampton has around 20 full time PhD students working on biometrics, including gait. Professor Mark Nixon, currently working alongside around 300 fellow biometrics pioneers on an ‘Encyclopaedia of Biometrics’} See “Walk this way” on Soton’s site. The bloody short sighted idiots.
The more data one accumulates, the more likely it is to be stolen. And if you, like me, believe persistent elements of this government have used ‘false flag’ terrorism, this very easily faked ‘evidence’ should send shivers down your spine.
RESIST GOOD PEOPLE. RESIST.
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Living with the Conspiracy 24-7 
Thanks for the information on this, it’s very useful and the site is great.
We live in a very different society compared to 20 years ago. I remember we used to leave the front door open at night and not be too bothered if we left the car doors/windows open (if there was no rain of course!) but how things have changed hey. We have a small business in Shropshire and have just installed a CCTV security system from Interwatch Security. We’re not that technical but they came in and recommended a certain type of camera and since the IP cameras have been installed and physically noticed outside our offices in Shrewsbury and Telford the number of incidents has been reduced. I wish I was back in the 80’s where surveillance was not an issue.
Thanks for your comment Tom. I’ll reply a bit later…
Hi Tom. Sorry, I was busy.
I am glad that you’ve “physically noticed outside our offices in Shrewsbury and Telford the number of incidents has been reduced.” and if that was the only issue, then personally, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
BUT, the fact of the matter is, the benefit that you have received is far outweighed by more serious and negative issues which are becoming more tangible by the day.
Despite so much CCTV, “only 3% of London’s street robberies being solved using security cameras.” and if you look at this page, questions about the usefulness of CCTV relating to crime is very questionable.
If someone is determined enough to commit a crime, all they have to do is aerosol paint the lens/angle of view of your camera before committing their crime, or stick a piece of opaic material in the way. Drunk people are far less likely to care about or notice CCTV. People wanting to assault someone will simply do it somewhere that there isn’t a camera.
CCTV is very much a mockery of the human condition which emphasises treatment not cure. Far better than to use CCTV whilst the underlying causes of crime persist, is to tackle the causes of Crime (bLiar’s soundbyte is true – pity is wasn’t backed by any concrete action).
Applying the scientific method to crime, from the time (as you mentioned many years ago) we could leave doors open up to now, tells us that the way society changed in the intervening years is the reason why crime has risen. CCTV totally fails to address that.
It would be a pity if your one-shot perception, which is giving you a false picture of the usefulness of CCTV compounded to the greater use of CCTV. I don’t mean to be offensive, just telling you what I think.
Personally, my greatest worry is that CCTV will be used to frame people for political purposes. The UK government is willing to have over a hundred British soldiers die in Iraq and have over 1 million Iraqi’s killed for political reasons pertaining to evil motives.
And how sure are you that the growing number of ALL employees in such IT firms can be trusted? Technology is just as useful in causing crime – it is simply a matter of criminal desire intellect.
If your unsure of where CCTV is heading, its as an amalgamation of
a) The DNA database (a reality)
b) Non-anonymous banking (a reality) and cashless transactions (a growing reality)
c) digital tracking (a strong reality – cellphones & RFID)
d) Definately a reality – Evesdropping: Database plan to bug phones, email” see also ACLU article. Note The ALCU greys out the echelon line connecting the US and UK. Try out this program it’s called Neotrace. Watch how your internet packages commonly pass through Echelon’s path. Anything you do can be spied upon. All it takes is for someone to take it upon themselves to look up your data.
The future’s bright, the future’s orange.
It’s interesting
CCTV does have its place. It is more of a tool of crime deterence and if installed properly, it will provide a solid tool for solving crimes. But it takes experienced personell to design and implement it for you. There are also many technological features that allow you to enhance your CCTV system by integrating other security platforms to enable email notifications if someone does decide to spraypaint a lens.
Anyway, my point is you need to take into consideration the security needs, the budget and the overall threat risk when providing a solution for any type of customer, including government customers, and the systems you recommend.