In class on Thursday, it was revealed to me in a group discussion that there are many more security cameras in London than I was aware. I was interested when I saw a number of cameras in central London. I saw them on the streets and in the tube stations; however, I did not understand their presence in the less central boroughs of London. There are cameras everywhere here! They are all down the streets, especially near crosswalks or traffic stops. There are even cameras that monitor the small neighborhood corner stores that are a ten minute walk from campus. Oftentimes, if you see a pole in the States, you would assume that it has a traffic light or street lamp at the top. In London, expect to see a closed circuit camera on top as well. Sometimes there are poles specifically for the cameras, some of which can follow motion and noise. I heard from a classmate that London has the most video surveillance in all of Europe. I don't know if that is true, but I would imagine it is pretty close. Here is an estimate in an online Times article discussing the reign of CCTV in London:
Liberty, a civil liberties group, conservatively estimates there are 4.2 million CCTV cameras currently in operation in the UK, one for every 14 residents. Anyone living or working in London will likely be captured on camera 300 times a day, the group claims.
There is a new breed of CCTV cameras that are being adopted for London. Big Brother is now really watching, and interacting, with Londoners. The new CCTV cameras have the ability to use audio to broadcast warnings or laws. Some broadcast pre-recorded government warnings, such as "CCTV is in operation in this area and antisocial behavior will be reported to the police." What can 'antisocial' behavior be defined as? Not letting your in-laws join you for tea? Probably not. But what could it be defined as in the future? The audio might not be so terrible for surveillance in open areas; hearing a dull announcement every so often would only be a nasty addition to the noise pollution already in existence. But what if the camera was talking to you? Yeah, you! In the read sweater! Some of the audio cameras have been employed by establishments in order for security to talk to citizens without even leaving the CCTV viewing office:
CCTV operators, keeping a vigilant eye on a bank of 39 monitors in their windowless office, can ad lib broadcasts, asking people, for instance, to pick up the litter they've just dropped, or warning them that their behavior's unacceptable.
As anti-surveillance as the American tradition is, I have to say that I have never felt safer living in a city, or even at my college. Greensboro's population is a far cry from that of London's, yet sometimes I feel extremely nervous walking alone at night, even in the areas with heavy police patrol. When people can be robbed less than a block away from a police station in Greensboro, I think it's nice to know that someone, even Big Brother, is watching me here. Although I understand the danger of feeling comfortable under surveillance, I think that's probably how a lot of people feel here. There is a lot less crime here. When I say a lot less, I really do mean it. Sometimes a story of a mugging will make it to the evening newspaper instead of the usual crime headlines we have to look forward to in the States. Without the presence of guns, the most arms that the average street thug can get is a knife. So what? I have one too. I carry my little Swiss army knife in my purse at all times. If I ever run into a situation where I feel scared or threatened, I can simply walk with it in my fist. It feels better to know that I am probably more easily matched with a common thug here than if I was walking around in New York City. Thug+Gun against Girl+Swiss army knife= mugging, sodomy, rape, abduction, murder etc. In London, the equation is much more easily matched. At least here, if I do fall victim to some terrible crime, maybe my Big Brother can help to bring the perpetrators to justice.
If you would like to read the article that I read, here is the TIMES link: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1711972,00.html
Please leave comments if you would like, I am interested to know what you might think of this since it is very different from our own system.
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