Britain is probably the most surveilled country on earth, and London the most watched major city. The “Big Brother” debate over privacy and whether closed-circuit television cameras deter crime has been going on for 20 years and continues today. Here’s a sampling:
Nick Anderson, ArsTechnica.com, 2007
Though the statistical impact of CCTV on overall crime rates may be up for debate, there’s no question that the technology has played a critical role in solving some high-profile cases. Last week, for instance, the first barrister ever sentenced for “perverting the course of justice” in the UK found out that he could spend up to a year in chokey [prison] after forging some legal documents for a case he was involved with. A CCTV camera in London captured pictures of the barrister sending the bogus e-mails from a shop.
London Evening Standard, 2007
George Orwell lived until his death in 1950 in a fourth-floor flat overlooking Canonbury Square in Islington, North London. Within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move. Orwell’s view of the tree-filled gardens outside the flat is under 24-hour surveillance from two cameras perched on traffic lights. The flat’s rear windows are constantly viewed from two more security cameras. . . . [At] Orwell’s favorite pub, the Compton Arms, a camera at the rear of a car dealership records every person entering or leaving the pub.
BBC, August 2009
Only one crime was solved by each 1,000 CCTV cameras in London last year, a report into the city’s surveillance network has claimed. The internal police report found the million-plus cameras in London rarely help catch criminals. In one month CCTV helped capture just eight out of 269 suspected robbers. David Davis MP, the former shadow home secretary, said: “CCTV leads to massive expense and minimum effectiveness. It creates a huge intrusion on privacy, yet provides little or no improvement in security.”
no-cctv.org.uk, 2009
The UK is the most spied upon nation in the world. Why doesn’t it have the lowest crime rate? Whatever happened to the UK’s common law value of “innocent until proven guilty?” Research shows that CCTV simply does not work, so isn’t it just a huge waste of money? Why do the media, police and government portray CCTV as an effective tool? Why has there been no public debate?
David Aaronovitch, Times of London, 2008
CCTV doesn’t “spy” on us in any meaningful sense. You aren’t “followed” by cameras “monitoring your every movement” (as some suggest). It’s worse than that: unless you’re doing something odd, or a crime has been committed, no one watching the pictures even notices you.
James Button, The Age, 2005
The “big brother” analogy is often used but isn’t quite right. There is no central surveillance bureaucracy. Rather, much of the spying is done by private security outfits on behalf of companies, councils and transport operators. They will contact police when they see a crime or — as with the London bombers — the camera footage will be taken and viewed by investigators.
