Member Article

CCTV: safe or intrusive?

On Friday, we asked whether you thought the new CCTV cameras in Middlesbrough, which allow those watching the streets to speak to those under surveillance, would help make the streets a safer place, or whether they are just one step closer to a society where people’s actions are being too closely monitored and dictated.

12.5% of voters thought that voices coming from the cameras would not have any impact, and would be ignored by most passers-by. 47.5% believed that the new cameras would be reassuring, with the knowledge that somebody was watching potentially helping in a bad situation. However, 40% were uncomfortable with the idea that they could be watched and spoken too by an unknown and unseen person looking at a screen.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .