If, for example, the CCTV trained upon Mr Suresh Kumar’s tiny corner shop in Plaistow has failed to deter any of the 200 raids upon it by robbers in the past decade, it is reasonable to question what effect such surveillance has when operating in a far less confined or well-lit area.
As Ross Clark argues in this marvellous and timely book, such technology offers doubtful security. Violent crime has continued to rise since security cameras became more ubiquitous than litter bins. CCTV infrequently leads to prosecutions. Even in those minority of cases where the police think the video evidence is good enough to be brought before a court, the law usually decides otherwise. Three-quarters of such attempts are ruled inadmissible because the picture quality is too poor to prove conclusive. It has not so much changed criminals’ behaviour as their wardrobe — hence the ubiquity of the hooded top.
It is often claimed that there is little fresh to explore in our world. But Clark attempted one last ingenious ascent into the unknown — how to travel from Newmarket to Southend without being detected anywhere en route by surveillance cameras. He got as far as Southend pier itself before noticing the CCTV cameras mounted on the end of the pier.
Yet, like the Hollywood action hero Jason Bourne, Clark managed to slip through the intelligence net undetected. His subsequent request to see the camera’s footage — even providing a photo of himself and the time he was on the pier to help with the identification — revealed only that the images taken were insufficiently detailed to determine whether or not it was him.
He had a similar experience demonstrating the ineffectiveness of measures in Northampton where the council has wired up loudspeakers to the cameras. These talking lamp-posts repeat recorded warnings to passers-by thought to be in danger of behaving antisocially. Some might think this sort of public order device more appropriate to North Korea than to Northampton.
Nonetheless, many of us instinctively turn off when a hectoring civil liberties lawyer or activist starts lecturing about these matters, not least because of their habit of choosing the least sympathetic cases upon which to base their attack. In contrast, Clark has again proved himself to be one of the most insightful and engaging commentators on modern Britain’s catalogue of absurdities. The moderate tone and wry humour of The Road to Southend Pier succeeds in making his argument all the more penetrating.
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