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With an estimated one million close circuit cameras to follow the comings and goings of its population, ostensibly to deter and detect crime, London is one of the world’s most monitored cities. However, the Daily Telegraph’s front page reveals that according to an internal report by the UK capital’s police force, the Metropolitan, this crime-fighting tool is far from efficient, with just just one crime solved a year for every 1,000 CCTV cameras. The conservative newspaper further points out with an estimated £200 million (€225 million) so far spent on cameras, this “suggests that each crime has cost £20,000 to detect.” Responding to the report, David Davis MP, the former shadow Home Secretary, argues that CCTV “creates a huge intrusion on privacy, yet provides little or no improvement in security.” Meanwhile, the government argues that cameras "help communities feel safer".
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