Star-marked articles are restricted to subscribers only. See subscription information . The cameras are everywhere. On streets, in railway stations, banks, shopping malls and car parks. They may have their use in reducing crime, but there are dangers of abuse.
Video surveillance can be a preventative device, but also a more sinister control mechanism.
Pictures and sound recordings of people are now defined as personal data - for which proper protection is required. For a start, people must be warned when and where they are being filmed. For safeguarding individual rights is crucial if a proper balance is to be struck between our freedom and our security. The first video surveillance systems were installed in the early 1970s to assist in road traffic management and deter bank robbers. During the 1980s their use spread rapidly to public transport, shops, the workplace, leisure venues and the approaches to public buildings.