It's well known that about a third of all traffic speed cameras in the UK are decoys; I assume that something similar goes on with CCTV cameras.
The British state is administered on the principle of maximum effect for least effort and least cost. The Empire was administered in the same way, although, as Lord North discovered, that principle has limits. The surveillance state is very visible because its primary purpose is deterrence, not solving crime at scale. The population isn't made legible; it's made to think that it's legible.
A few years ago, there was a lot of media coverage about 'super recognisers'[0]. This is because CCTV footage has to be reviewed by humans. There's a reality TV series that shows how much human work has to go into turning the information from the surveillance state into actual outcomes on the ground.[1] It's not an everyday thing.
> this is a huge negative rather than an achievement from the western perspective.
To you and I, yes, but I don't think we can take for granted that everyone or even a majority of the West thinks that way these days. Especially if you told them it was to be used for immigration control.
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It's well known that about a third of all traffic speed cameras in the UK are decoys; I assume that something similar goes on with CCTV cameras.
The British state is administered on the principle of maximum effect for least effort and least cost. The Empire was administered in the same way, although, as Lord North discovered, that principle has limits. The surveillance state is very visible because its primary purpose is deterrence, not solving crime at scale. The population isn't made legible; it's made to think that it's legible.
A few years ago, there was a lot of media coverage about 'super recognisers'[0]. This is because CCTV footage has to be reviewed by humans. There's a reality TV series that shows how much human work has to go into turning the information from the surveillance state into actual outcomes on the ground.[1] It's not an everyday thing.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_recogniser
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunted_(2015_TV_series)
> this is a huge negative rather than an achievement from the western perspective.
To you and I, yes, but I don't think we can take for granted that everyone or even a majority of the West thinks that way these days. Especially if you told them it was to be used for immigration control.
We've already got the mass surveillance TV show: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunted_(2015_TV_series)