Film on CCTV in Britain

[herbertbauer 0]

Hey guys,

 

I didn't know in which forum to post this, but I just ran over the website of a new documentary on CCTV in Britain. They got a trailer online:

 

http://www.EveryStepYouTake.org

 

What do you think? I don't think the topic will be handled very even-handed, but I'll give it a shot when it comes out.

 

Herb

[Cooperman 0]

Can't wait ... I need a good laugh

[rory 0]

Well actually if those that think CCTV does not help, would leave their home town for a bit and goto another place where it doesnt exist, they will quickly see how useful it actually is ..

 

In other words check the amount of Violent Crime in the UK compared to the US, and well right here where i live. Brits come here and its a whole different world to them ... Ive lived in the UK and the US also and crime is like nothing in the UK, compared to elsewhere ..

[Cooperman 0]

Well actually if those that think CCTV does not help, would leave their home town for a bit and goto another place where it doesnt exist, they will quickly see how useful it actually is ..

 

In other words check the amount of Violent Crime in the UK compared to the US, and well right here where i live. Brits come here and its a whole different world to them ... Ive lived in the UK and the US also and crime is like nothing in the UK, compared to elsewhere ..

 

Apart from the debate about whether "CCTV" actually deters crime, which is a far more complex issue than most people realise, the problems we have over here are more of a political nature.

 

Anti Social Behaviour and crime in general is far worse than the authorities would have us believe from statistics.

 

We have more crime now than we've ever had previously, but for various reasons, a lot of it is either never reported to the police, or they are unwilling to record it.

 

The suggestion that four and a quarter million surveillance cameras somehow makes the U.K. a safer place to live, is something of a 'house of cards'. We may have an embarassment of surveillance, but that doesn't mean that even a small fraction of what is in place, actually works effectively ... because it doesn't.

 

A quick example for you; the London Underground 'metro' system is the most surveilled public transport system in the world. So on Christmas Day, a gang of graffiti 'artists' walked up the tracks from an open air station, into an underground station, where they carried out tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage. We still await the release of CCTV recordings with less than eager anticipation

[rory 0]

Yeah but generally .. you guys dont have Iron bars on your windows for fear of being raped and stabbed/cut/beaten to death ... kids typically arent stabbing each other every day .. and teens arent typically getting gunned down in broad daylight ... I cant go outside my appt at night anymore its that bad .. well I only do when Ive had a few drinks

[Cooperman 0]

Yeah but generally .. you guys dont have Iron bars on your windows for fear of being raped and stabbed/cut/beaten to death ... kids typically arent stabbing each other every day .. and teens arent typically getting gunned down in broad daylight ... I cant go outside my appt at night anymore its that bad .. well I only do when Ive had a few drinks

 

I'm not sure when you were last over here rory, but I'm guessing the England you remember is a very different place from what it is today.

 

Perhaps because I'm based in London it seems a lot worse than it is, but almost all private premises in the centre, whether commercial or domestic, have bars or shutters fitted, knife crime is a serious problem in schools, and although our gun culture is way behind that of the States, that doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

 

Add to that the announcements by leading politicians and security service bosses who regularly advise us that there are possibly hundreds of potential terrorists planning attacks, and I think it's probably fair to say that the Britain of today, bears very little relation to the country it was perhaps five years ago

 

So how do we deal with it? well, we just grit our teeth and get on with it; it's the old british stiff upper lip don't you know.

[kensplace 0]

The us has lots more legal gun ownership, and more illegal gun owners in general. Saying that, even in the uk, it depends on the area how you view the level of violence. Where I live there has been one double shooting at the pub down the road, with one death, one serious injury, and since then the pub has been torched... add to that a drive by house shootout, no injuries this time, add to that a brutal murder to the rear of our property (couple of streets away less than 1 mins walk), add to that a shooting in the knee at the pub just to the rear of our house, add to that the sofa set on fire just next door outside our house, etc etc etc...

 

And guess what, they still have not installed ANY cameras in these areas, but spent god knows how much putting a whole LOAD off cctv cameras looking down backlanes about 5 minutes walk away. Weird aint it.....

 

The uk seems to have lots of people who just dont care about cameras, they are that stupid they just dont care...... CCTV does deter a LOT of people from doing silly things, or even serious crime, but it will never stop a idiot, or someone high one drugs or seriously drunk..

I love the cameras, when they are working, or pointing the right way.they give me a sense of security (real or imagined) but due to the amount of coyboys in cctv in the uk, many people know that the cctv camera is not always going to produce decent footage, or even be working (heck I even saw a camera in tescos (a major supermarket) the other day that didnt have a bnc cable plugged in...))

 

Its rare to see decent footage of cctv stuff, and oddly when you do, its more common (at least when I watch the news) to see someone who could not care less the camera was there in the first place when the did the crime.

 

I think it all depends on the location, the laws, and the people, the actual camera's deterent is variable on those factors.

 

PS - I expect violent crime to rise dramatically in the uk in the next decade or so, totall lack of common sense from parents/judges/legal system, combined with tv, and lack of manners, and a weird lack of morals will lead to a future I dread to think about..

 

Cameras were not around years ago, but people were a lot nicer, now there is a lot less respect and law abiding'ness around, yet loads of cameras...

 

Ahh Im rambling, but its hard to type when other half is rambling on and boring me senseless, so hope it made sense

 

CCTV good - but not actually anything that makes a difference (at the time, obvously its a godsend after the fact) other than to those easily put off...

[rory 0]

Yeah I realise it has changed, everywhere has . but when compared to other locations .. I know quite a few brits that live here and it shocks them still .. week before last I had to give video to the cops for 2 seperate murders that occurred in the same week.. both where the people had been burned to death inside a vehicle, one a teenager. Course the video was from a local Gas Station ..

 

If i didnt get bored so quick, Id move to the outislands where there is no crime .. city's are always the worst .. Mind you, when I came back here after living in NY for 3 years, the crime here shocked me. But then I didnt live in the Ghettos in NY

 

Guns are illegal here too (British Law - its gotta change).. but the cops just picked up a few hundred illegal guns in raids the other day.

 

Having Video is still better than having no video .. without video criminals would go free (well depends on the setup ofcourse) .. now what happens to them as far as Jail etc .. thats not the Camera's fault .. I know alot more crimes would be solved here if we had public cameras ..