Police State?

Britain, already the world's leader in video surveillance of its people, will soon be able to automatically track the movements of millions of cars on most of its major roads as police agencies are drastically increasing the number of cameras that read license plates. Authorities are also building a national database that will make it possible to determine in seconds whether a car zooming by has insurance, was stolen or was seen near a crime scene.

"It will revolutionize policing," said John Dean, the national coordinator of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, adding "our aim is to deny criminals the use of the roads." Dean said the idea is to make it difficult, if not impossible, to travel by road without being captured by the cameras.

People in Britain are already monitored by more than 4 million closed-circuit cameras, making it the most-watched nation in the world, with a typical London resident being monitored ~300 times a day.

Cameras monitor activity throughout the London subway and bus system, on street corners, in stores, and around public buildings. Revenue for the closed-circuit camera industry has quadrupled in ten years and is now a $1 billion-a-year business, according to a British security trade group.

Posted on The Human Stain