One nation?…

December 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

Sadly not, it seems. A Scottish Government review published earlier this month has spoken of a

Really?
Really?
“postcode lottery” determining whether you live in “an area with CCTV, whether the CCTV is monitored, [and] whether every incident is systematically recorded and forwarded ‘live’ or later to the police and/or other partners to investigate and respond”. The public assumption that ageing cameras are on 24 hours a day and always able to capture high quality footage is “naive”, according to the review (the full text of which can be found here; for The Scotsman’s report, click here).

How many other cameras in Scotland are not doing their job - and how easy will it be to turn the current situation around when recession-hit public finances are so stretched? Has CCTV been nothing but an expensive – and invasive – waste of time for many of the people who need it most?