|
| INFOWARS.net Copyright © 2001-2005 Alex Jones All rights reserved. |
 |
|
|
Caught on camera - wherever you go
Cambridge Evening News | July 23 2005
EVER get the feeling you are being watched?
I knew I was. Walking through the centre of Cambridge with the city's 97 CCTV cameras monitoring my every move was slightly unnerving, but after the terror attacks in London it's reassuring to know how much they see.
The suicide bombers who hit the Tube and bus networks on Thursday, July 7, were caught on CCTV cameras as they set off from Luton station on their evil mission.
And detectives investigating this week's attacks are hoping camera images could be vital in catching those responsible.
In Cambridge, the city council CCTV team inhabits the bowels of the Guildhall, in teams of three, watching the streets, car parks and trouble- spots, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Whether you're a criminal or a victim of crime, if your house is on fire or your shop's being flooded, chances are the cameras will pick up on it.
On Thursday, as bombers again tried to bring carnage to London, I went out in Cambridge to test CCTV's ability to follow a suspect through the city.
Walking through Market Square, past King's College, along Trinity Street to Quayside, then back through Sidney Street to Petty Curie and Corn Exchange Street, there wasn't a moment that went unobserved.
Drinking a coffee, buying an apple, reading the News - it was all there on screen, picture- perfect evidence of everything I had been up to.
Martin Beaumont, CCTV manager for the council, said his teams of operators were the best around, and promised the stereotype of "Big Brother" spying on innocent people was a world away from reality.
He said: "We've got a very open system, and very clear guidelines on what we can and can't do.
"Our aim is to try to make people feel safer, and we have a team that do their job very well.
"Above all else, we work on the basis that the public are our boss, we're here for them - not working against them."
One camera operator, who has been working in Cambridge for more than five years, said he had witnessed some bizarre incidents over the years.
He said: "We've seen it all - a classic is people wearing traffic cones on their heads after a night out, unaware we've watched every other drunk in the city using that same cone as a toilet.
"Once we even watched a group of men pick up a News sale booth and carry it through town and into a college.
"When the police arrived the porter swore it hadn't happened, but we were able to point out to him that the hut was there in the middle of his courtyard - the look on his face was worth seeing."
Last week the News reported that the city's CCTV system, which extends to Ely and Soham, had assisted in its 5,000th arrest since it was set up in 1997.
Mr Beaumont said: "Our dedicated staff can claim the credit for every single one."
The sophistication of Cambridge's system is astonishing.
Banks of screens cover the walls at the CCTV headquarters, with operators able to pull up images from any of the 137 cameras in a second.
Most of the cameras can scan around an area, some can turn 360 degrees, and they all have amazing zoom capabilities.
In one demonstration, the operator pulled up pictures from a camera on a traffic island outside the Catholic church at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road, and zoomed in on a pedestrian's face, which could be seen in intricate detail, almost 1km away at the war memorial in Station Road.
When camera pictures are used by the police to identify a suspect, or used in court as evidence, two different shots are always taken.
The first is a broad picture, which can show a person in the context of their surroundings, the second is a close shot of the face, so no mistake is made identifying the individual.
Mr Beaumont said the type of offence operators were spotting now had changed since the first days of CCTV in Cambridge eight years ago.
He said: "When we first started it was all shoplifting and bike theft.
"Over the years we've seen a rise in people drinking too much and getting into altercations.
"There's also been a rise in the number of offensive weapons on the streets - knives, imitation firearms and even real firearms - it's something we've noticed more of in the last few years."
