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Are security cameras ruling our lives?
THERE has been a lot in our papers this week about security – police officers are now being issued with personal cameras and CCTV is to be issued to watch over Ropemaker Park in Hailsham.
While the personal cameras carried by officers have some value as a trial exercise in gathering evidence, there's no denying the use of this kind of monitoring is continuing to spread.
Look anywhere and you will find an electronic eye – in shops, in town centres, busy and not so busy streets and of course on the road.
It's a well-known fact that the UK has the highest level of security cameras in Europe. We have more Gatsos monitoring traffic and CCTV networks in our towns than ever before.
But does this ever-increasing network make the average citizen feel safe in the wake of crime or dangerous drivers?
There is quite a nice park near where I live that I feel comfortable sitting in since the high privet hedges around it were chopped down a few years ago.
Before, you never knew whom you might encounter, and I avoided it.
A few weeks I was sitting on the bench and a pair of PCSOs wandered through on their rounds. They said hello to all the groups of people using the park and I found it was quite reassuring to see a pleasant, uniformed presence passing through.
On the other hand, I would find it quite disconcerting to be watched in that situation by a CCTV camera.
It seems the old fashioned approach is best when reducing the fear of crime – more police officers showing a more visible presence.
The huge amount of cash used to provide CCTV and Gatsos should be cut, with a greater proportion going to provide more policemen and women, both on the streets and in patrol cars.
After all, a human face is much more reassuring (and a lot less invasive) than an electronic eye.
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Weather for Eastbourne
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Light showers
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