CCTV Surveillance Systems have been used for monitoring the public since the first pilot schemes in the 1970s and 1980s. The first experimental public CCTV Installations were set up in Bournemouth to monitor crime in car parks, on public transport and other public places. The crime rate was reduced and the results were so favourable that CCTV Installations were rolled out in other cities. It is now the norm for streets to be monitored by CCTV cameras. It has been reported that the UK has more public CCTV Systems than anywhere in the world. There have been major debates about the use of CCTV Surveillance Systems invading privacy. These have been overcome in the main, and the advantages of reducing crime with CCTV generally outweighs arguments about privacy.
The police and other public bodies use the output from CCTV Surveillance Systems as evidence of crimes such as pick pocketing, car theft, robberies and personal attacks to bring the perpetrators to justice. The images from a CCTV System can be used in court as proof of a crime and can mean the difference between the defendants being acquitted or sentence being passed.
CCTV Surveillance Systems are used in other public places such as airports, railway stations and also as speed cameras to deter drivers exceeding the speed limit. CCTV Surveillance Systems are tools for combating terrorism. CCTV Installations were vital tools in the investigations apprehending the perpetrators of the bombers in London in July 2005 and played a crucial role in keeping people safe at the 2012 London Olympic Games and Para Olympic Games. To ensure this was achieved, CCTV systems had to be installed not only be at the Olympic site, but also on the underground and buses.
There has, then, been an increased usage of CCTV Installations to prevent and detect crime over the years. The police use it regularly as a tool for apprehending criminals and general monitoring of known hot spots as well as special projects. There have been questions as to whether CCTV Surveillance Systems are cost effective, but can we really put a price on our safety? The types of CCTV Installations used for public surveillance are expensive in comparison to those used in domestic systems but if we can reduce crime and terrorist threats, then perhaps it is money well spent.
The CCTV Image magazine estimated the number of CCTV cameras in the UK at 1.85 million, but as there is no requirement to register a CCTV Installation, the true figure is not known. Other sources report the figures at 1.5 million. There is a growing demand for CCTV Installations as the crime rate rises and an increasing number of CCTV Installation Companies offering their services, not only for public surveillance, but also for domestic and other private premises. CCTV Surveillance Systems are here to stay – particularly while there is a terrorist threat in the UK and the trend for increasing criminal activity.