CCTV has become a familiar site for every town and city across the UK. In that, from business premises to town centres, public squares and coffee shops there is now a familiar site hanging above our heads everywhere.
The rationale for these is simple but the issues about them are complex. It’s difficult in particular with regard to the law. This is an issue of what it means to be human in a society that claims to be free.
The idea of being watched is something as old as the notion of living in a community with other people. However, our nation’s statute book has become ever more complicated. It has become less clear if we are truly being protected or looked for.
Stating the facts
The trouble is that even if you see CCTV images have been proved useful for a court of law in attempting to prosecute a suspect of a crime for a victim, it’s not clear what their other use is.
It needs to be questioned if the CCTV images are owned by law enforcement; if everybody wants to be seen on the same images; and if the cameras are always used for the correct purpose.
I’ve heard over and over it’s not certain who gave permission for the cameras to be put in place and what their intended purpose was because a general use would imply a surveillance state.
In fact, I’ve seen evidence that fake names have been put on forms for camera orders, and that dodgy security companies have been used to follow up CCTV images to confirm their veracity.
The truth
It may be true that there are professional uses for CCTV cameras on any corner of the country, but it’s not clear if every camera that is installed has been put there with complete integrity.
In general, CCTV footage has been used appropriately on national television, but this is in a microcosm and it’s usually heavily edited. This is not its real purpose anyway and it cannot be or that would be something like a police state.
There are particularly uses that can be justified by existing legislation. However, there are hazards in allowing open access and also not regulating the daily use of imagery that is captured by a camera pointing out in a public place.
What we need
It’s not a difficult concept to understand. It’s something that members of the public do every day to help themselves; to understand altercations; and to keep a record of things around them.
However, if the issue is just dealt with in general, it leaves the door open for corruption. It cannot be that we approve of something as it is because there is a need to think about it as we’re also using it.
This means it cannot be at the disposal of a single powerful group, or useful to a single side only, or beneficial only to a select few. It’s something that should be treated equally and with as much sensitivity as the law itself.