CCTV and Security

Not an issue that denotes a passive response from the general public, CCTV surveillance is more of a debate than a topic. Likened to the idea of Big Brother due to the amount of closed circuit television cameras there are in the UK alone (approximately one for every 14 people), many members of the public feel their privacy is violated by the little eyes in the sky.

It's said the average person is reportedly spotted on camera approximately 300 times a day, but out of those three hundred moments how many times do you realistically notice? Or even care? Well even if you don't notice, this safety measure seems to provoke outrage within some people.

This is where the debate lies.

It falls into three categories: a) the privacy issue, b) their effectiveness, and b) do they lower crime?

People's privacy is a sensitive subject and as such, should be treated with a certain amount of care. Why would you want your every move to be filmed? Does your every move need to be filmed? From buying your groceries to catching the train to work you are watched 24/7. A reason behind privacy being an issue could be based on the sheer amount of cameras that you see. It spooks people and creates the idea that you might be in a dangerous area. However as the concept of CCTV becomes more widespread hopefully the public will be more accepting and realise eventually it will make for a safer environment.

The UK has the highest amount of CCTV cameras than anywhere else in the world.

Have they proven to lower crime? No. Does this mean we don't need them? Absolutely not! Whichever side of the fence you sit on, it's hard to argue that the use of CCTV is useless. Need we remind you of the crazy lady who threw the innocent cat in the bin? We rest our case. More seriously, there are more and more reports that CCTV is helping the police forces solve crimes; surely a surveillance presence is better than no presence at all?

They may not fight crimes but they'll sure as hell try to solve them. Moreover they act as a deterrent. Like any other security presence, CCTV surveillance acts as a deterrent and a preventative.

This is something Churchill Security specialises in. To learn about the best system for you, call us today for a quick course on what's hot and what's not, what you need and where you need it.

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