In England, Security Cameras That Scold | News.blog | CNET News.com

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In England, security cameras that scold | News.blog | CNET News.com

British authorities are installing talking security cameras in 20 locations throughout the country to try to crack down on offenders, the BBC is reporting.
The cameras, already in use in Middlesbrough, England, warn miscreants via a loudspeaker about minor offenses such as littering. Workers in control centers there monitor 12 cameras and can talk directly to citizens when they spot violations. Officials say they have prevented fights and cut litter levels.

Authorities in the U.K.–the country that gave the world Nineteen Eighty-Four author George Orwell and his critique of surveillance societies–also use self-activated “speed cameras” to monitor driving habits.

Privacy advocates were troubled by the idea of a Big Brother-ish voice hectoring passers-by.

“Apart from being absurd, I think it’s rather sad that we should have faceless cameras barking at us on orders from who? Who sets these cameras up?” said opponent Steve Hills.
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Seem that the UK is even further along, in some ways, on the slide to fascism than we are.