CCTV is no silver bullet - it risks making life less safe - Guardian Unlimited
A timely article by Libby Brooks about the proliferation of CCTV cameras in the UK. We have 20% of the world's total and there is no restriction on private organisations putting them up. I notice it most when I'm out driving, because every few yards there is yet another camera or set of cameras, and the feeling of being spied on is unsettling. Why do they need to have so many? Of course, being caught inadvertently doing 3mph over the speed limit is also a worry.
The article mentions how the CCTV epidemic has even found its way into small towns, how its effectiveness in guaranteeing our safety is limited and unproven, and its effect of making us value our privacy much less, hence the rise of programmes like Big Brother, something I had never thought of.
What about deliberately exceeding the speed limit? It's a little curious that someone who believes he is being continually watched by a far more powerful and far more arbitrary power which will inflict much more savage penalties than a few points on a driving licence is concerned about CCTV.