Steve Forrest - Paranoid Britain: A walk through the Surveillance Society.

This photo-essay is intended to stimulate debate on the impact that CCTV cameras have on British Society. I have focused on my regular walk to work from my home in South London, to my office in Central London (4.3 km). I pass approximately 106 CCTV cameras along the way, that’s around 1 camera for each 25m.

In the UK the use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) for surveillance and crime control has grown to unprecedented levels making us the most ‘watched’ nation on earth. There is an estimated 4.2 million CCTV cameras in the UK (500,000 CCTV cameras in London alone which is one camera for every 14 people). We are photographed on average 300 times a day. Between £150 and £300 million per year is spent on surveillance. This is despite recent studies that conclude that CCTV systems have a negligible effect on deterring and fighting crime.