Supposedly there's a huge demand for C.C.T.V within Leeds:
This article states that:
"The city centre occupies 16 square blocks and so there are, on average, almost 10 cameras per block,"
- I want to know why there is so much demand for them. I understand their existence and the good that has come out of them so I get having enough for a reasonable amount of coverage- but why so much? This seems excessive, seeing as later on in the article it states that "By contrast, there are only seven cameras per city block in the most highly surveilled neighbourhoods in New York City and Chicago, which are of course much larger cities." I am confused to say the least.
However,
Supposedly, "Over 3,000 arrests were made last year due to CCTV in Leeds for offences ranging from anti-social behaviour to murder," said John Birkenshaw.
"That shows it's working and that we are getting a good return on our investment."
New CCTV cameras installed in Pudsey and Farsley have alone been credited with bringing nearly 200 prosecutions in the space of 18 months.
"We are not catching people throwing cigarette ends," added Mr Birkenshaw. "We are dealing with serious criminal offences and the cameras are also backed up with extra patrols.
- I want to know why there is so much demand for them. I understand their existence and the good that has come out of them so I get having enough for a reasonable amount of coverage- but why so much? This seems excessive, seeing as later on in the article it states that "By contrast, there are only seven cameras per city block in the most highly surveilled neighbourhoods in New York City and Chicago, which are of course much larger cities." I am confused to say the least.
Below there are all the 'Leedswatch' scheme objectives, they seem like fairly reasonable justifications for using C.C.T.V- there have been many instances where it has helped in the capture of criminals- which, can never be a bad thing surely?
Perhaps not.
Through my research i've found a lot of evidence that suggests surveillance cameras are not all we've been led to believe they are.
-'The National CCTV Strategy, published last October, found that more than eight out of 10 CCTV cameras fail to provide satisfactory images for the police.
It revealed that the majority of cameras are not positioned in places where they can combat terrorism or serious crime.'
It revealed that the majority of cameras are not positioned in places where they can combat terrorism or serious crime.'
-It costs £20,000 just to install one camera
-'Only 3% of crimes were solved by CCTV in 2008'
With regards to the amount it costs, i've found that it is a massively big business. When typing in C.C.T.V into 'Google', the results annoyed me at first because there was very little information about it, there were just adverts for websites for businesses.
Thinking about it further I was shocked that this was the case, then even further, it didn't surprise me- people are so scared nowadays they actually feel safer if they have surveillance cameras.
-says something about our current societies mental state.
These businesses play on the fear of the type of person that can afford "nice things", or even worse, essentially threaten your family with the hypothetical situation of abduction or murder. Not just physical safety but mental safety....-if they make you scared then they've got you.
-I don't want to totally ignore the fact that times have changed and generally people feel a lot more unsafe. But I think you have to ask the question, how much of that is this type of negative marketing?
With regards to the amount it costs, i've found that it is a massively big business. When typing in C.C.T.V into 'Google', the results annoyed me at first because there was very little information about it, there were just adverts for websites for businesses.
Thinking about it further I was shocked that this was the case, then even further, it didn't surprise me- people are so scared nowadays they actually feel safer if they have surveillance cameras.
-says something about our current societies mental state.
These businesses play on the fear of the type of person that can afford "nice things", or even worse, essentially threaten your family with the hypothetical situation of abduction or murder. Not just physical safety but mental safety....-if they make you scared then they've got you.
-I don't want to totally ignore the fact that times have changed and generally people feel a lot more unsafe. But I think you have to ask the question, how much of that is this type of negative marketing?
However,
Supposedly, "Over 3,000 arrests were made last year due to CCTV in Leeds for offences ranging from anti-social behaviour to murder," said John Birkenshaw.
"That shows it's working and that we are getting a good return on our investment."
New CCTV cameras installed in Pudsey and Farsley have alone been credited with bringing nearly 200 prosecutions in the space of 18 months.
"We are not catching people throwing cigarette ends," added Mr Birkenshaw. "We are dealing with serious criminal offences and the cameras are also backed up with extra patrols.
The objectives of the Leedswatch scheme are:
To reduce the ‘fear of crime’ and offer ‘ reassurance’ to the public, by:
(1) Facilitating the apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
(2) Assisting in the prevention and detection of crime committed in public areas.
To achieve the above objectives, the main function and responsibilities of the CCTV operators are to:
(a) Work a shift pattern that provides the monitoring of Leedswatch CCTV on a 24 hour basis.
(b) Respond to incidents and report to the police & other agencies when necessary.
(c) Provide statements for Court purposes.
(d) Act as professional witnesses.
(e) Keep accurate records of incidents.
The full article is on this site:
Made me think-
One of the aims of such surveillance is to make society 'behave' themselves because they could be being watched at any given time in the public eye. This could be argued, I suppose, either way. The fact that just the presence of C.C.T.V can make people second think stealing that stilton from the deli counter is surely a good thing? Yet there's something quite scary about the mass manipulation of the whole thing without people even realising. I guess it happens every day- i'm not quite sure of my stance on the subject just yet.
General Facts on C.C.T.V:
-There are more cameras per person in the UK than anywhere else.
For full article check this link out:
General Facts on C.C.T.V:
-There are more cameras per person in the UK than anywhere else.
-They run to a desired amount of monitors so the person viewing can see what the camera sees- it is 'closed circuit' (C.C) so not anyone can see.
-There are 'around 4.2 million surveillance cameras within the UK.'
-There are 'around 1.5 million surveillance cameras within city centers.'
-There are 'around 4.2 million surveillance cameras within the UK.'
-There are 'around 1.5 million surveillance cameras within city centers.'
Specific ways in which we in Britain have been watched through surveillance:
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