The surveillance society (continued).....

According to the BBC, there are up to 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain - about one for every 14 people. The UK also has the world's biggest DNA database, with 3.6 million DNA samples on file.
In an interview with yesterday's Politics Show on the BBC, the deputy chief constable of Hampshire Ian Readhead questioned the use of CCTV cameras in small towns and villages where crime rates were low.
We should be worried by Ian Readhead's comments. I've mentioned the subject of a "surveillance society" in previous posts, but the dangers are real. An untrustworthy government could now monitor our every move using CCTV and "dataveillance" - the use of information from credit cards, mobile phones and loyalty cards to monitoring telecommunications.
Consider: Westminster council in central London has already tested microphones installed alongside CCTV cameras. Talking CCTV cameras have been tested in Middlesbrough and are due to be installed in 20 areas across England.
Whatever next?


Are we so obsessed with the usual diet of celebrity gossip and tabloid tittle-tattle that we've become blind to this creeping surveillance?
Police chief's 'Orwellian' fears
Warning over 'talking CCTV' plans
Microphones catch out noisy bars