COMMENT: Cameras are here to stay – live with it

8:26am Tuesday 6th May 2008

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THERE are probably very few people who have not come round to the idea that CCTV is basically a sound idea. When the so-called spy cameras' were first mooted, there were those among us who had their doubts.

Some objectors cited erosion of civil liberties, conjuring up notions of Big Brother and other Orwellian images. But most Faithful City citizens now accept that law and order on the streets is not what it was and are therefore happy that the world of hi-tech can make us all that much more secure.

Nevertheless, it would now seem that we are being softened up to contemplate either a reduction in their use or for businesses to dig into their pockets. The council chief executive and the police are apparently concerned about cost levels and are taking a long, hard look at the Worcester system.

From where we're standing, the authorities are being extremely cagey about the matter and the refusal to say how much the system costs to run each year merely adds to the bureaucratic smokescreen.

However, your Worcester News can make its position clear. Basically, any suggestion - even if couched in fashionable jargon - that this vital tool in the war on criminals should be reduced needs to be smothered at birth. Court reports published in this newspaper often make reference to thugs who have been caught on camera and there is likely to be a deterrent effect that is obviously impossible to quantify.

Whatever the outcome of costings, this newspaper believes that CCTV is here to stay. The authorities should therefore sleep on this.