Whatever the critics in the tabloid press may say, with their all too frequent references to ‘1984' and ‘Big Brother', the British public continue to demonstrate a positive attitude towards this technology.
Certainly, the consensus of the people I meet, whatever their background, is that the only individuals who have anything to fear from CCTV are the criminals themselves. It is encouraging therefore to see this upbeat response reiterated in research which speaks to people on the ground such as that undertaken on behalf of the Information Commissioner's Office - ‘Public Attitudes to the Deployment of Surveillance Techniques in Public Places'.
Those interviewed tended to "feel safer where CCTV is installed", seeing it as "an anti-crime measure both to deter criminal and anti-social behaviour, and to catch the perpetrators."
In public places the ability to help deal with criminal attacks on the person - such as mugging - is seen as a major benefit, even more so than dealing with property crime. What is particularly heartening for all of us in the industry is the lack of overt criticism of CCTV, the report's authors commenting on the responses from the groups they interviewed: "CCTV is reckoned to offer great personal benefit to the individual, with few if any disadvantages that people are conscious of."