Are 4m CCTV cameras Orwells vision realised?
JULIA HORTON WITH stunning views, a low crime rate and dramatic beaches, the Highland town of Tain – Scotland’s oldest royal burgh – is starting to be recognised as a perfect holiday destination. So it might surprise visitors to learn that Highland Council has spent 200,000 to keep them and the town’s 3,500-strong population under close surveillance. The money was invested in nearly 50 cameras linking Tain to nearby towns including Nairn, Dingwall and Thurso using digital recording systems. But while police and councillors say the move keeps people safe, it is part of a growing trend which has led to the UK’s information commissioner, Richard Thomas, warning that the country has become a “surveillance society”. Yesterday a leading policeman joined civil rights campaigners in branding the spread of CCTV cameras an “Orwellian situation”. Ian Readhead, deputy chief constable of Hampshire, voiced his concerns that sleepy towns and villages were wasting valuable resources on spy cameras. Si
