UK Cameras Fitted With Speakers

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»UK Cameras Fitted With Speakers

This seems like a particular movie that I like to speak about, doesn't it? <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=avL4PSqZrcj4">I reported about this before, but it is so bad that I need to bring it up again</a>. Attaching speakers to cameras will allow the government to actively police every single person in a bad way. This is not how society should function. There needs to be personal interaction. Talk about invasion of privacy.

Quote

During the past decade, the government has spent 500 million pounds ($1 billion) on spy cameras and now has one for every 14 citizens, according to a September report prepared for Information Commissioner Richard Thomas by the Surveillance Studies Network, a panel of U.K. academics. Who's In Charge? At a single road junction in the London borough of Hammersmith, there are 29 cameras run by police, government, private companies and transport agencies. Police officers are even trying out video cameras mounted on their heads. "We've got to stand back and see where technology is taking us,'' said Thomas, whose job is to protect people's privacy. "Humans must dictate our future, not machines.''

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Ohh come now. This wasn't expected in England? Remember 1984? Even V was made for England.

The concerns are valid. However, I object to the use of the term "spy cameras", as they are security and surveillance cameras, most of which can plainly be seen by the people they are monitoring.

Of course, some of them could be hidden and I'd say it's probably at least a person's right to know if they may be being filmed by large government or private agencies while out in public ... albeit, there's nothing to stop a private person covertly filming a public area all s/he wants - and I wouldn't want there to be, in a free society. I was filming the cityscape of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia once from the top of a tall tower, open to the public, and a security official detained me because apparently you need special permission to film from there. Well, I don't want my society to become *that* restrictive.

However, I do believe there are valid concerns with the level of cameras on public places in Britain and the scope for invading the privacy of individuals or stalking them from camera to camera.

Video cameras on officer's heads is a good idea though, because it gives the traditional British bobbie's tall helmet a purpose for being!! Also it would allow anything witnessed by an officer to be used as evidence (for defence *or* prosecution) and also prevent such officers from doing or saying anything they wouldn't want to be filmed doing. As long as they only wear them while on duty in uniform.