We are not ALONE! Ever have that strange feeling your being watched? But you turn around and there’s no one there…not a sole…oh but there is, in the form of surveillance cameras watching and monitoring your every move. There are over five million CCTV cameras watching our every move here in the UK and by using some basic maths it means there is a 12:1 camera to person ratio. It has been estimated that a single individual living in London is caught on tape at least 300 times…and that just in one day. CCTV (Close Circuit Television) comes in a wide range of forms. From the very basic systems found in your local corner shop to the most complex multi-million pound systems.
Surveillance
But how useful are they? Do we really need them? Well, here’s a selection of surveillance examples that we put together in order of usefulness and benefits. Choose to agree or disagree with this selection and challenge it at best.
Healthcare & Care Homes:
Advances in technology have meant there are new and innovative ways it is incorporated into healthcare and medical. Ventilators, hearing aids and pacemakers are only the tip of medical technological advances. More recently Barchester Healthcare has announced its partnership with NHS Norfolk to deliver a computer system which can monitor the health of residents remotely in a bid to improve quality of care. Blood pressure, weight, temperature, glucose levels and other vital signs can all be monitored with this new surveillance technology. Ruth Nobbs from the NHS states,
“We are delighted with the way that Woodside House Care Home has embraced the technology and the opportunity to work with the trust.”
Pretty handy piece of technology for busy care assistants.
Identity Cards:
Although they have yet to be officially rolled out, ID Cards have had a rather bad reception from the majority of the general public. The scheme was initially brought about due to national security risks from the London terrorist attacks in 2005. But it seems that the Labour government has been left with egg on its face as the national security risks have come from its own high profile politicians loosing sensitive security data about the public. According to Jacqui Smith,
“It wants to give people a sure-fire way of proving they are who they say they are. It argues ID cards will boost national security, tackle identity fraud, prevent illegal working and improve border controls. ”
And it will cost us about £30 each for an ID Card. Not fair when we didn’t even want one in the first place.
Congestion Charge:
Green Peace loves it and the average motorist loathes it. Courtesy and legacy of Ken Livingston, the congestion charge is one of London’s biggest surveillance networks and is a multimillion pound system. Introduced in 2003 to cut co2 emissions and to decongest central London’s traffic, reviews of the scheme have been met with mostly bittersweet responses. Some motoring and council watchdogs have slammed the scheme, with Hammersmith and Fulham Councils reporting,
“The Transport for London (TfL) probe shows London’s streets are as clogged up now as they were before the levy was introduced in February 2003.”
With the departure of Ken and the arrival of Boris, the congestion charge scheme has been promised to be scaled back. Further suggestions that the surveillance scheme is not fully working.
Source: BBC | Barchester | Hammersmith & Fullham Council