CCTV Facts

• There are up to 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain- About one for every 14 people

• The average person is caught on camera 300 times a day

• A report from the Surveillance Studies Network predicts "That by 2016 shoppers could be scanned as they enter stores, schools could bring in cards allowing parents to monitor what their children eat, and jobs may be refused to applicants who are seen as health risks.

• Only 3 percent of crimes were solved by CCTV

• Often cameras are badly positioned, out of focus or broken

• CCTV can save money in the courts. More people are likely to plea guilty if they think they have been caught on camera. "A court hearing with a guilty verdict saves around 3,000-5,000 pounds."

Sources:
"CCTV: Does it work?" 13 August 2002.
"Britain is 'surveillance society.'" 2 November 2006"CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police Owen Bowcott." 6 May 2008 .