Wondering around the Silver City of late, as you do, we have been taking note of some brand spanky new CCTV cameras. All over town. They are easy to spot as they have made no attempt to blend them in, hide them on buildings as is the norm. They seem to be an attempt by the police state to say “I’ve got a massive phallic thing and it’s eye is on you, sonny boy!”
Welcome to the Silver City!
They have even appeared in the posh bits of town, the end of town where they often say “what?” at the end of a sentence. Is this to identify any “feral scum” who might head up west should there be a riot? Or to identify the squeezed into rebellion “middle class floater voter” when they take to the streets?
It seems weird to us that in a time of massive cuts to local services there is money for new CCTV surveillance. Once again A.C.C have weird and strange priorities, baffling to the common personage’s like ourselves.
The cameras are kinds new to us also, they do remind one a bit of the ones from the V for Vendetta comic with weird aerials and what not.
They will be speaking to us next, telling us to remain clam, just you wait!
We already knew of the CCTV that tracks licence plates on cars which will identify any undesirables as they approach the city. Makes us glad we cycle everywhere.
Chums from London also said they have facial recognition down there and when you do a quick online search they now have ones that spot crimes automatically This of course allows the double whammy for the operating company of having less staff and more profit. It’s a real win, win situation..
A recent article in the local scandal rag highlighted that Aberdeen has 942 council run CCTV cameras now! More than the combined “coverage” of Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. One lucky school up here has 51 CCTV units all to themselves. The area also has a 35% child poverty rate, we did wonder if there was any connection, but soon forgot about it due to a re-run of X-Factor being on.
It seems the city council have more cameras on the estates than anywhere else with only about 110 in town.
In the last four years Aberdeen City Council have spent over a cool £1 million on CCTV and all councils in the UK have spent a happy total of £515 million on CCTV surveillance, clearly they see a link between poverty and crime.
What worries us at A.A. HQ is the normalisation of the CCTV beasties. We don’t give them a second glance as a rule but the new additions to Aberdeen’s overcrowded pavements did grab our attentions. Crime rates have fallen but we have had an increase of police on the beat so we cannot attribute it all to CCTV, so what the mad rush for more?
They may or may not have a place and a use in 21st century Scotland but 51 of then at a secondary school seems a tad extreme, does it not? And we are sure that any new development in the city like the proposed City Garden Project will introduce a good few more into our lives.
Although this will allow A.C.C to have a stab at the coveted “Surveillance City Award” which has replaced the dated “City in Bloom” competitions we all used to enjoy. The current champions and holders of the “Surveillance City Award” are Leicester City Council with mighty 2,083 CCTV cameras!
Which I hear is making our local leaders fume with paranoid jealous rages and mighty, mighty anger.
So, once again, the never seen man, with the never seen plan, from Aberdeen City Council is off work. Sick with stress induced stress thus allowing his paranoid voyeuristic minions too run amok once more; Liberally scattering shiny new CCTV poles about the town in the vain hope of a national award they can plaster over all the “Welcome to Aberdeen” Signs along with “Drive careful now, We are watching!”
report by The Dirty Hoof.
Blatantly pinched photo from this website which we enjoy so click OTHER ABERDEEN and enjoy it also. We send our apologies, love and thanks.
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Aberdeen Anarchists 