Are we living in a surveillance society?
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On tonight's programme I report on how the Police are using cars rigged with cameras and other high-tech gear to catch thieves. It seems to work - car crime in West Yorkshire fell by a fifth during the six months it was being tried out.
I reckon most people would reckon it was a pretty reasonable way to get convictions for often very persistent criminals and it is just one way that the Police are making use of new technology.
You've probably heard of Automatic Number Plate Recognition - cameras that can read number plates and then check them against Police databases to see if the cars are wanted for any reason. Again, it sounds pretty innocuous doesn't it?
What I didn't realise was just how widespread the technology is. A couple of weeks ago I was filming with the Police for another One Show item. The patrol car we were in had a camera fixed to the rear window. It turns out it was also part of the ANPR system.Â
Sure enough, within a couple of minutes we'd clocked a couple of cars driving without tax. What astonished me was that all the data it collects goes back to the databases and is stored for 5 years. And I mean all the data - every single car!
And what's more there are now thousands of ANPR capable cameras. Most of our towns and cities now have ANPR cameras on all main roads. When the network is complete it will record up to 50m number plates a day.
Think what that means. Every time you pass one of these cameras there is a record. If you drive from Leicester to Manchester, say, you might pass tens or even hundreds of them.
There's no question that this is really powerful technology for the police. A number of murders have been solved because they could show that the murderer was near where the victim was picked up or where the body was dumped.Â
The question is whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Do you think technology like this means we are living in a surveillance society, that Big Brother is watching us? Alternatively do you think that anything that can help the Police catch murderers and other criminals has to be worth having?
I think it is a really tough call, please tell us what you think.
Are we living in a surveillance society?
Click here to add your comment.
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