Check this story out- it's about 'Asbo TV'- residents of shoreditch may soon have the ability to 'tune in' to the local CCTV cameras to scope them out and report any crime-making they see.
?The CCTV element is part curiosity, like a 21st-century version of Big Brother? said Atul Hatwell, of the Shoreditch Digital Bridge project.
Uhm, you said it, pal. Orwellian or Channel Fourlian? The creepy thing is he was saying this in support of the project, and didn't even see the irony. I can't wait until everyone has the ability to tune into any camera in the country- then we can actually follow people around just by switching to the right camera channel. Aside from the more obvious implications of this technology -the article itself notes that criminals could use it to monitor who is home and who is not, and the potential for enhancing local gossip is awesome- I think there's a slightly more important point to make, which is this: it won't make any difference.
There's a saying in the Police force which runs along the lines of: The Police have the ability to solve almost any crime, it's just a matter of applying their resources in the right direction. You think the Police don't know that there is drug dealing and vandalism in Shoreditch? You think having grannies tuned into their CCTV cameras 24/7, calling up the operator every time they see that suspicious bloke with the hat stumbling around outside the pub, is going to make their jobs easier? It's not like they're sitting around waiting for you to call.
Now don't get me wrong: there's something communally nice about this plan, everyone looking out for everyone else. But I quickly gave up calling the Brixton PD every time people were dealing on my front doorstop because thier reaction was generally: "And...?"
This is a 
CCTV didn't help that poor guy in Kensal Rise tube hey? This country has become one of the worst (best?) for surveillance but really, what happened to all the coppers on the beat? Where do they go when they're not at football matches or protest marches? (Maybe one for AQA.)
Although, there is the potential for citizens to get involved and watch the cameras and enhance the police force effectiveness by giving them more man power.
Also isn't it Orwellian when he state watches the people not when the people watch the people?
Is it Orwellian when the state is watching the people watching the people watching the state watching the people, who are then watching other people and reporting it to the police?? And the people are reporting it to MI5? Who are telling the American government?
Is it Orwellian when the state is watching the people watching the people watching the state watching the people, who are then watching other people and reporting it to the police?? And the people are reporting it to MI5? Who are telling the American government?
Or is that sometthing else?
Or, well, I was obviously using Orwellian in the sense of 'as or pertaining to the works of George Orwell', in opposition to the television show Big Brother.
But as anyone who's actually read 1984 knows, a big part of the society depicted was an encouragement for civilians to betray and inform on each other in support of the state.
I'm all for the 'communal' aspect of everyone watching everyone else through CCTV cameras, and there's certainly a manpower argument to be made for everyone Sky+ing the CCTV camera footage, thus relaxing a data-burden on the Police force. But in terms of actual law enforcement, this won't make one jot of difference. The Police, if you haven't noticed, have their hands full at the moment. Getting more people to 'notice' that there are crimes occuring does not actually change the capacity of the Police force to prevent crime.
Maybe I just have a warped view of the world but I totally got excited about this and ran out a started splurging the workings of my mind onto the net.
This is what came out...
"Open CCTV broadcasting"
Check out http://www.asbotv.com
Anyone keen on a "I Love OCB" tshirt ?
And no I am not talking about "Organization of Competitive Bodybuilders"