CCTV A CCTV network , known colloquially as simply CCTV , was a specialised camera system used all over the universe to track people down . Sonic screwdriver s were capable of disabling the cameras . ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " ) Though others felt demeaned by being under the watch of CCTV cameras , the Third Doctor once smiled waved at those guarding Stangmoor Prison excitedly , drawing their attention . ( TV : " The Mind of Evil " ) The network gave , under the guise of Prime Minister " Harold Saxon " , access to all national surveillance cameras . He used those cameras to view the Tenth Doctor and his companion s while speaking to them . The Doctor disabled the camera with his sonic , and they ran . ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " ) Matt Crane , under orders from Torchwood administrator Yvonne Hartman , used CCTV to locate who has been tampering with their " ghost s " , both finding that ( the Tenth Doctor ) and , an added bonus , the Doctor ' s TARDIS , just as the Doctor was tracking " them " down . ( TV : " Army of Ghosts " ) Park Vale Comprehensive School had a network of CCTV cameras , none of which picked up the October 2009 appearances of Odd Bob the Clown . ( TV : " The Day of the Clown " ) In 2011 , the Cybermen abducted humans from Colchester department store Sanderson & Grainger and teleport ed them to their crashed Cyber Ship . As the Eleventh Doctor quickly informed Craig Owens , they cunningly wiped the CCTV as well , leaving no trace of the disappearances . ( TV : " Closing Time " ) A UNIT researcher used CCTV feed to find out how the Shakri cube s were affecting human ity at the end of the Year of the Slow Invasion : across the world , everyone near them had cardiac arrest s . ( TV : " The Power of Three " ) In 2020 , Nasreen Chaudhry and Tony Mack used CCTV in their drill ing project . When Mo Northover took over one night , the Silurian s below the base began their attack and every CCTV camera was shut down . ( TV : " The Hungry Earth " ) Far away from Earth , Peladon had a security system installed by Eckersley rather similar to CCTV . Cameras were stationed across the planet , and he monitored the activities of the peasants from the communications room . In the end , however , he was — in the words of Alpha Centauri — " betrayed by [ his ] own security system " . Alpha and Sarah Jane Smith , through the visual and audio of the system , heard him conspiring with Ice Warrior Commander Azaxyr . ( TV : " The Monster of Peladon " ) A prison ship holding a Minotaur recreated a 1980s Earth hotel , including its CCTV network . As Rita was about to be kill ed by the Minotaur , the Eleventh Doctor , in the surveillance room , switched off the system so as not to have to witness her death . ( TV : " The God Complex " ) Used by Torchwood . The CCTV network gave Torchwood Three access to all the surveillance cameras in Cardiff . ( TV : " Day One " ) The camera images came up on the computer screens stationed all around the base . ( TV : " Day One " , " Meat " , et al ) As well as around the city , the CCTV cameras were also posted inside of the Torchwood base itself , occasionally being used to monitor prisoners . ( TV : " Day One " ) Occasionally , members of the Torchwood team used the CCTV cameras to watch people for personal reasons , such as when Captain Jack Harkness watched Gwen Cooper kiss her fiancé Rhys Williams . ( TV : " Meat " ) The cameras were sometimes shut down , such as when Weevil s were being kidnapped . ( TV : " Combat " )