(UK) Public to monitor CCTV from home

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
Date: October 12, 2009 5:58:15 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: (UK) Public to monitor CCTV from home

Hi Dave:

For IP if you wish.

cheers

Brian

----

Members of the public could earn cash by monitoring commercial CCTV  
cameras in their own home, in a scheme planned to begin next month.

The Internet Eyes website will offer up to £1,000 if viewers spot  
shoplifting or other crimes in progress.

The site's owners say they want to combine crime prevention with the  
incentive of winning money.

But civil liberties campaigners say the idea is "distasteful" and asks  
private citizens to spy on each other.

The private company scheme - due to go live in Stratford-upon-Avon in  
November - aims to stream live footage to subscribers' home computers  
from CCTV cameras installed in shops and other businesses.

This is a private company using private cameras and asking private  
citizens to spy on each other. It represents a privatisation of the  
surveillance state
Charles Farrier, No CCTV

If viewers see a crime in progress, they can press a button to alert  
store detectives and collect points worth up to £1,000.

. . .

Although the UK is the "world capital of CCTV" - with an estimated one  
camera per 14 people - viewing hours of mostly tedious and often poor  
quality images is a lengthy and unpopular job, said the BBC's home  
affairs correspondent Andy Tighe.

In August, an internal report commissioned by London's Metropolitan  
Police estimated that in 2008 just one crime was solved per thousand  
CCTV cameras in the capital.

The deficit was partly blamed on officers not being able to make the  
best use of the many thousands of hours of video generated by CCTV.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8293784.stm

--
School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell




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