UK - 1 CCTV camera per 14 people
 

and with the new ID cards coming soon, and couple of more steps the government is about to take to "protect its citizens" every time a Brit masturbates will be properly recorded and filed away...

i dont see why people are so afraid, cctv is great for catching criminals...

In general I agree that it is too much. However, in central London when I am walking alone at night, I am glad it is there.

well, so many countries with extremely low crime rates didn't really need cctv cameras to achieve that, we can attach ID tags to the ankle of each and every man, woman, and child, I'm sure that will bring down crime even further

Which african country do you live in that has a low crime rate?

If you have nothing to hide, if you aren't breaking the law, all the cameras in the world shouldn't worry you at all.

The US could improve many of it's cities and get rid of much of the street crime if people couldn't just stand on a street corner and sell drugs with impunity, or commit robberies in the street, etc. There are very few american cities at this point that I would be comfortable in after dark.

I worked on some of those camera systems for a "government" "somewhere" and they don't like for their people tor truely know the magnitude of how much they are monitoring their citizens. They can ID you at over 2 miles with facial rec software. It's a creepy feeling to know that you can be watched from anywhere... even if what you are doing is legal.

crime actully hasnt dropped with those cameras in london

scotty, it isn't like "put up a camera, and there is no crime", but it is a time an evolution thing. As more criminals become aware of the power of the cameras, especially in tracking and allowing police to pick up suspects more easily, they will move on.

The other thing you have to consider is this: Crime may not go down, but what was the trend before and after the cameras take effect? if the crime rate was increasing by 10% per year, and now is flat, then the cameras have made a pretty significant impact.

I would feel much more comfortable walking in London at night rather than LA.

I don't think its enough I think we should all have cameras attached to our head and linked into a national database if we want to be truly safe!

they said the cogestion charge cameras were just for congetion charge then they are linking them up to traffic cameras and forecourt cameras in petrol stations so they can track cars by plate pretty much allover the place... its sinister!


http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/

Inclined to agree with you on that Sarah - it can be very useful in cental London to have a few cameras around (despite I'm prob a loud mouth when it comes to privacy and individual rights :) )

Tho the general overall number of cameras is kinda ridiculous and prob a scenario where these are more useful after a crime as been committed than any crime prevention.

is it?

All the cctv pics they show on the telly on crimewatch or something like that are absolutely crap... even after being digtially enhanced..

And, the criminals have a cheap and simple answer to being recognised on good systems... hence the rise of the hoodie...

Already thought of...
http://www.synapseproductions.org/ab...cards/1984.jpg

Not the only interesting UK fact to pop up this week.

I also heard uk young uns fight more, take more drugs and have under age sex more than any other european nation.......

ahhh.....good old school days.....:)

yeh i understand what you mean, but i was just saying what some of the critics were saying of the whole system.

i was a school boy last year and i didnt do alot that :disgust

Just wait a few years when technology becomes cheaper and cheaper and more sophisticated and that argument will become useless. :2 cents:

Then why would they need all the cameras in the world if the citizens have nothing to hide?

In central London it is more that I know somebody is watching incase I am attacked or something. There have been a few shows on tv that show the command center in the West End and I have to say those don't bother me at all. They use them as much to keep an eye out for accidents and stuff as much as crime.

Where I don't like surveillance is when trashcans have chips in them to monitor who is throwing out what kind of trash, etc.

Benin, 3.7 homicides, 1.0 rapes, and 17.4 serious assaults per 100,000 people

guess what - NO CCTV cameras, no CCTV cameras in most of the North European countries, Singapore, Korea........

shit, how did they do that? magic, I guess

Because there are enough "citizens" that have something to hide, are willing to steal from others, and willing to engage in activities that the society has deemed unacceptable.

Without the budget or the means to put a cop on every street corner, in every store, and on every tube station, the only solution available is cameras and people to watch over multiple cameras at once.

Western society as a whole went to shit when it somehow became acceptable to steal from others. Rob a 7-11, and you are likely to get a slap on the wrist and "have a nice day". I remember a show on TV about car theives... the same people get picked up every other day in a stolen car and all they get is suspended sentences, small fines, and released ROR because there is nowhere to put the criminals.

That is why there is a need for cameras, because they guy next to you is more likely to steal from you than try to earn a living.

Sure.. it's the extension of video surveillance and the introduction of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification products) that make the whole scenario open to abuse. Keep it up at that rate and they'll be able to plow the trash dumps and ID where you bought a can of spam.