CCTV debate.

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Bit of both, innit.

People are generally less likely to commit crime where they know there are cameras potentially watching them. And the public, overall, want them, as they always ask us for them.

But by and large, they are mostly only going to be used as supplementary evidence in a court case. Someone's sworn witness statement would be the main evidence, we'd go and check out possible CCTV sources, ie shops, bars etc, to back up the account afterwards.

CCTV can show your innocence as well as your guilt.

I completely understand where you're coming from, but CCTV has been responsible for nailing some pretty nasty people. Graham Coutts, the guy who murdered Jane Longhurst, was identified because automatic number plate recognition cameras carrying out a traffic survey registered his car going repeatedly back and forth to the site where her body had been dumped and burnt. Similarly, he was also caught on camera carrying a large package (sadly, her body) to a storage facility in Brighton.

The men on trial for the murder of the Bradford PC were picked up when their car went through ANPR cameras in the congestion charging zone. The 7/7 bombers (Ok, after the event) were identified through CCTV, as were some of the plotters for the failed 21/7 attempt.

No, it's not the answer to everything, and frankly it would be dangerous if we started to rely on it, but I do think it's (1) a useful deterrent at times and (2) a decent source of evidence on occasion.

OK, I reckon you would know better than most what benefits CCTV offers.

I accept your view that CCTV is used primarily as supplementary evidence with witnesses being more valuable.

I still think that we are now seeing completely OTT surveillance because we have set a precedent from which we can't back out, we will end up with cameras on every street corner in Britain, and every misdemeanour or petty anarchy that we currently enjoy will be taken from us.

Every one of us occaisionally gets up to something that we would rather keep quiet, or at least I hope we all do, life will be pretty bland if we are all forced to never step out of line.

Going back to my original post, have none of us ever got hammered and staggered home falling over bins etc. would we like that being broadcast?

Have none of us ever bought something in a pub which is of dubious provenance? would we like that on camera for some busy body to use against you?

None of us have ever been somewhere we were not supposed to be, sometimes with someone we are not supposed to be with? hand on heart.

These things go on all the time, and I for one think that if we are prevented by spying from getting away with anything then some of lifes little joys will vanish