Big Brother really is watching

Photo by: Tadeusz Szewczyk

The London Underground has a total of 275 stations on its network. Each is monitored by a series of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras. I noticed today that one station I pass through regularly has a camera labeled "Camera 34". A quick calculation stunned me. Assuming that the typical number of cameras in a typical station is 34 then there must be more than 9300 cameras in use on the Tube.

As staggering as this number sounds, it's merely a drop in the ocean in terms of the UK's CCTV surveillance. At last count the UK had more than 4,285,000 CCTV cameras installed. The Independent newspaper says that this represents about 20% of the world's total CCTV population.

This year the UK became the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A network of cameras across the nation now automatically reads every passing number plate. The London Congestion Charging Zone alone has at least 700 CCTV cameras. This road pricing scheme covers a 21 sq/km area in central London. Each lane of traffic either entering or leaving the zone is captured and recorded by cameras linked to a number plate recognition system.

In short, every person in London is monitored by dozens of CCTV cameras any time they leave home. The average Londoner can expect to be caught on camera 300 times every day or an average of every 12 minutes, compared with every 30 minutes in Manchester and Edinburgh.

London's original camera network was installed in response to the IRA's bombing campaign in the 1980s. The presence of the cameras and their ability secure criminal convictions dramatically reduced the terror threat. The UK Government subsequently left the cameras in place after research suggested that crime in general declined in areas under surveillance.

It surprising how many cameras you can spot in London once you start to look for them. It's also a little unnerving to think that your every movement is monitored, no matter how innocent your intentions. Perhaps more alarming is the total ambivalence that people have here when it comes to being watched day and night. It certainly makes me uncomfortable. It's as if some of life's innocence has been stolen without permission. Big Brother really is watching.