h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think cctv is a great idea-pity there is not more of these cameras about though.
My once quiet street has become a drunks play ground, and it is impossible to prove who is commiting the crimes these idiots are doing. Recently there was a group of drunks trying to break my fence and vandalise a neighbours car-so I picked up my disposable camera (with flash) and snapped them-they suddenly stopped what they were doing and went away-and this group has not passed since. If people let themselves get so out of control
they should be glad to be seen and photographed-one day they might be thankful.

and in the case of James Bulger-cctv helped catch his killers.

read about James at A583049

There is little evidence that CCTV cameras stop or prevent crime, at best all they do is to displace crime from an area with cameras to an area without. So from a crime prevention perspective, which is "supposed" to be what they are for, its not really worth the money spent on the systems.

Of course there are other issues around the invasion of privacy, and accountability of the system management that get quietly hidden by this mantra of, they're there to fight crime.

but surely if cameras were more abundant criminals would be able to be tracked and they would not be able to find safe havens for doing what they do?

also anyone I know with a camera tells me that the criminal activity has stopped.

I do not mind being filmed-and I think if you have nothing to hide you should not mind-I don't mean this personally of course!

"I think if you have nothing to hide you should not mind". Ok, we'll be round in the morning to put up the cameras in your house

OOOOOHHHH!
feel free! I'll just go and look
out me skimpy cozzie! lol!

with laws changing all the time, and more and more people being criminalised, how long before you do have something to hide? Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

not me-I'm not that interesting!
but I have been the victim of crime-and I suppose that makes me feel differently to other people. (and I am sure everyone has suffered from Crime-but what
I had to put up with would have been stopped if I'd had film to prove what had been going on.)

Thats what you think, but if they are surveilling you (especially with the hold indefinatly without a trial that they wanted in the RIPbill too) means they know where to disappear you from when they hear of that joke which mentioned Tony Blair, that you were telling. On another note even with film, criminals are not necessarily stopped and put away, and after they would know who you are and target you more afterwards. On that cheery news, until later.....
BCNU - Crescent

A lot of CCTV is quite useless due to the poor quality. Any form of identification is impossible and unlike on TV you can't use a computer to magically resolve the face.

yes-but it's good in a case where like me-I knew who was doing the stuff to my house and it would have been a doddle to look at the accused and the film together and see it was the same person. And you know if you saw film of someone you knew commiting a crime you would recognise them. an example of this would be that scum that bombed the 'Admiral Duncan' pub with a nail bomb-and was recognised by his collegue.
Is it not better to put up with being filmed if it catches people like that????

No really, somee is so poor quality it's almost impossible to tell, as the face takes up about 8 pixels. It's also probably very easy to fake lo quality crud, just like photoshop can do wonderful fake photos.

*sigh*

but it's better than nowt!

especially...if...you...already...know...the......that's doing...it!!!