This is Sussex --EAST Grinstead shoppers want to see more CCTV cameras in the town – even if it means their every move is followed.
The Courier & Observer can reveal that Sussex Police has 12 cameras around the town centre.
And with a majority of traders having their own camera systems wired up, a shopper walking along London Road and the High Street could be viewed by more than 20 different cameras in as many minutes.
But rather than feeling spied on, residents seem only too happy to be filmed if it means a reduction in crime.
Resident Amy Dubis, 35, of Estcots Drive in East Grinstead said: "I think most people forget they are even there.
"If there's nothing to hide then why would you be worried about being watched?"
Troy Marks, of Borers Arms Road in Copthorne, agreed. The 32-year-old said: "As long as the cameras are only looking out for criminals or suspicious-looking people, I don't mind being filmed."
The British Security Industry Authority (BSIA) has estimated there are up to six million closed-circuit television cameras in the country – or one for every 11 people in the UK.
And West Sussex has the highest ratio of CCTV cameras of English counties, with 0.52 per 1,000 people.
Charlie Martell, managing director of Martell's, believes CCTV is an invaluable tool for the company to fight thefts.
He said: "It is definitely a deterrent. We have got 35 cameras across the company.
"They have helped catch people who have taken stuff and we are constantly reviewing the cameras and where they are.
"I think in general that people have grown used to them and forget that they are there."
Sussex Police works alongside local authorities with regards to its CCTV system – and while you are shopping in town, the force's staff based at Haywards Heath and Brighton monitoring centres are watching you.
During the 2012/13 financial year, CCTV operators played a "significant role", providing evidence to police regarding 49,878 incidents in Sussex - a 15 per cent increase on the previous year. A police spokesman said: "In addition to those figures, there are many other cases where CCTV has played a key role in research to assist successful prosecutions and getting justice for victims of crime. It can also work the other way, in that people who have been accused of a crime can then be exonerated due to the CCTV evidence. Right at the beginning of an investigation many victims of crime will want to know if the incident was captured on CCTV."
But Nick Pickles, director of privacy pressure group Big Brother Watch, pointed out that CCTV does not provide all the answers to reducing crime.
He said: "Surveillance is an important tool in modern policing but it is not a substitute for policing.
"CCTV does not tackle the underlying problems that cause crime, while doing little to deter it. The public would be far safer if the money was spent on street lighting, proper policing and actually punishing criminals when they are caught, rather than giving them a slap on the wrist and putting them back on the streets." Reported by This is 2 days ago.