England has dirty little secret – Its government likes to spy on its people!
England is an Electronic Police State, and is described by the Surveillance Studies Network as being ‘the most surveilled country’ among the industrialized Western world.
United Kingdom, has installed more cameras than any other western country. The UKs network of public surveillance cameras is the largest in the world, although China is rapidly catching up. The number of surveillance cameras in England and Wales increased from 100 in 1990 to a current staggering 4.2 million, or one for every 14 citizens.
No matter where you go there is a vast array of CCTV cameras watching your every move. It is estimated that you are caught on camera up to 300 times a day.
People tend to justify the state spying on them by saying – “I’ ve got nothing to worry about – I’ve done nothing wrong”. The question is however, where do you draw the line? Is having video cameras in your bathroom ok if you are doing nothing wrong? How about video cameras in the bathroom at your local school? It is a fact that In some schools in the UK you cant even take a shit without being watched by CCTV.
Also when you are driving on the nations roads your movements are being tracked by the nationwide network of roadside cameras connected to licence plate recognition systems. It is said that this system records and stores the details where people move on major roads and through city centres. This information is apparently stored for several years.
I was shocked when we drove into a service centre off a motorway. There was an array of cameras that took a picture of you and your licence plate as you drove in. A corresponding sign informed you if you stole anything or decided to gas and dash you would be tracked down. I am not sure what is more disturbing about this – what it says about the English citizenry or about the people who are spying on them.
The justification from the government for spying on it citizens is that it deters crime. I say if you treat people like criminals they will act like criminals.
