While Americans fret and debate about roving wiretaps, the ever-lessening privacy, and DNA records taken by the police, Britain is already there - and they don't seem to mind Big Brother!
Here's an article at the LA Times by Kim Murphy about how Close Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) are not only pervasive in central London, they can even command you what to do!
The closed-circuit television camera lurking just down the street from the fast-food restaurant bellows menacingly at the first sign of danger to the flora, or a cast-off cigarette butt or fast-food wrapper, for that matter. "Pick it up," commands a booming voice from . . . where, exactly?
The CCTV cameras in Gloucester and several other British towns now come equipped with speakers, meaning Big Brother is not only watching, he's telling you what to do. [...]
By some estimates, 4.2 million CCTV cameras, or one for every 15 people, quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, monitor the comings and goings of almost everyone -- an average person is caught on camera up to 300 times a day.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/columnone/la-fg-bigbrother19oct19,1,1527232,full.story?coll=la-headlines-columnone&ctrack=2&cset=true
Previously on Neatorama:
» Using Spy Planes to Identify Homes that are Wasting Energy
» Automatic License Plate Recognition
» Bin Brother is Watching You
» Can Big Brother Hear Me Now? (Image: Image: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)
STOP PISSING IN THE ALLEY WAY YOU DRUNK!
Loads of UK newspapers and news programmes have covered this topic, and people are generally not happy about the state of things.
I fear whoever expressed that opinion is just trying to coax Americans down the same path because "brits are doing it".
Rant aside, studies have shown that there is NO correlation between public surveillance and reduction of crime. That's right, none, zip, nadda - so you p*ss away your privacy, spend all that money on the infrastructure and maintenance and get ZIPPO (except of course less privacy) in return.
The speaker thing is ridiculous though. Who's going to listen to it?
Really? I've been to the UK a couple times and to be honest, I didn't even think about it at all. I did know about them, just didn't bother me I guess.
And Vonskippy while I have no stats to back up my claim, I would imagine even if they didnt statistically reduce the number of crimes, at least it's easier to find the criminal. Take the London bombings for instance.
And yes, the people I've spoken to in the UK who think it's a good idea always mention identifying criminals afterward. Still, that doesn't do much to stop the initial crime, apparently.
That is the single most idiotic thing I have read on this site ever.
Who was asked? Who responded that they "dont mind".
This is a propaganda piece plain and simple.
I guess "minding" the constant surveliance is a thought crime.
-dave p.
I'm sure the actually statistic for how many cameras there are for each person was higher, something like 1 for every 4 people, not that you can really trust any statistic anyway.
Believe me, the USA and Britain are pretty much the same in terms of freedom. They have their ups and downs. All this omg-we're-more-free-than-you (which happens on both sides, hell, more often on our side, actually) doesn't particularly help anyone.
Er...hope that proved you wrong? Or something.