they see me
They see me when I walk down the street, when I walk into a store, when I enter a tube station, when I stroll in the park… In London, CCTV surveillance cameras are everywhere. They transmit live video feeds from around the city to a few major surveillance centers where police officers and government officials watch the feeds 24/7. Yesterday I visited the surveillance center in East Ham.
At the center there are around 40 screens that cycle through video from 360 local cameras. At any given time about six people monitor the video and control the cameras. One staff member demonstrated how she could control a camera: she zoomed in for a close-up of a man sitting on a bench.
Living in a surveillance society is just another way to live. In the United States there are very few surveillance cameras; in the UK there are a lot. I could argue that CCTV is great because it makes the streets safer; or I could argue that it is dangerous because it invades the privacy of individuals. But I am not going to argue either point. I have only been in London for eight days, and thus I am too ignorant of British culture to form any opinions.
October 24th, 2006 at 9:50 am
why limit the argument to safety vs. privacy?