The Government must not back down on its promise to regulate CCTV

Today at Prime Minister's Questions, the Leader of the Opposition, Harriet Harman, took on the new Prime Minister on the issue of CCTV.

Harman asked David Cameron to spell-out his plans to regulate CCTV (something we have also done - albeit for different reasons). Sadly, in response, the new PM said he "supports CCTV", but the level of surveillance in society had become too great - "it's a question of proportionality."

Returning to the issue, Harman then said that a particular estate in her constituency apparently wanted their CCTV system, before adding: "They don't want to be told by this government that it's going to be made harder to get the CCTV they need on their estate. Can I press him about this, this is about people feeling and being safe in their communities."

Cameron didn't go any further to elucidate the plans for regulating CCTV, although he did make more encouraging noises on powers of entry and general surveillance. What is clear is that the Coalition are clearly not as sure on getting rid of camera surveillance as they were on ID cards.

Big Brother Watch feels that it is time to press the new Government on CCTV to ensure they don't back down on the initial promises. To that end we have just released the following statement:

"It was very disappointing to see the Prime Minister soften his position on CCTV today. For the past decade, countless millions of pounds have been spent increasing the level of camera surveillance in this country, with no appreciable reduction in crime or increase in safety as a result. If the Coalition Government is serious about privacy and civil liberties, it will make sure that it tackles the public sector’s wasteful mania for CCTV as soon as possible."

We wait to see what the response is.

By Dylan Sharpe

For a more detailed explanation of our arguments against CCTV please read:

Big Brother is Watching - Big Brother Watch's first major report into Council-controlled surveillance.

Why Alan Johnson is wrong on CCTV - A short blogpost summarising the anti-CCTV argument.

Comments

[Purlieu]

proportional
appropriate
- two weasel words we could well do without

[NeverSurrender]

Simply wonderful! So it looks like we are to going to continue to be treated like animals in a zoo, like inmates in a jail. Great Britain is to remain Great Prison with no end to our torment in sight. Does that sound a bit too gloomy? Maybe but I can't see this ever ending. :-(

[Purlieu]

There's too much "invested" to turn round now. We are stuck with it, until the cost of maintenance/replacement becomes too much, then they will all quietly rot. Until then, those who put it there will continue to say it deters/solves crime, without a shred of scientific proof, but then since when did the words of politicians ever need a basis in fact.

[Tom Reeve]

Ha ha - the Government's just over a month old and they've already seen through your tissue-thin argument.

Of course the Prime Minister "supports CCTV" because CCTV has been going strong in the UK for over 16 years now (it was started by the last Conservative Government) and apart from some minor tweaking around the edges, it's built on more or less the same model as when it started.

The coming debate will be about the objectives of regulation and how it's implemented and will have little if any impact on the numbers of cameras and systems in the UK.

[Redacted]

@Tom Reeve:

Yes Tom, depressing news for those of us in the "over-sensitive" minority.

It would be ideal if we could divide the country into two parts. One for you and all the other exhibitionists who like to live in a goldfish bowl under the constant watch of "official agencies" in loco parentis, and a separate one for those of us who, stubbornly, wish to remain human, and to have the liberty to attempt to live our lives as if we were adults.

[jordan 1 flight low]

In order that people may be happy in their work,these things are needed:they must be fit for it; they must not do much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it. Do you understand?

[golf secrets]

the UK became one of the most watched societies in the world. Surveillance was higher than in any other European Union country, and at the same level as Russia and China, according to Privacy International statistics.

[ゼチーア]

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