History

= **History** =

CCTV had been first installed by Siemens AG, Germany in 1942 to observe the launch of V-2 rockets.

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When video cassette recorders hit the market, video surveillance became ever increasingly popular. Analogue technology using taped video cassette recordings meant surveillance could be kept on tape as evidence in the event of a crime taking place and being filmed on CCTV. The seventies saw a great boom around the world in the use of video surveillance in everything from law enforcement to traffic control and in some cases even divorce proceedings. England installed video surveillance systems in four of the major Underground Train Stations in 1975 and began monitoring traffic flow on major highway arteries about the same time. In the United States, the use of video surveillance wasn’t quite as prevalent until the 1980’s for public areas, but store owners and banks understood the value of the systems.

Businesses that were particularly prone to theft, including banks, mini-marts and gas stations, began installing video surveillance systems as a deterrent and in hopes of apprehending thieves; this was the case especially in high crime areas. The insurance industry also found video surveillance useful for many different situations – worker’s compensation fraud, bogus accident claims and a variety of other cases began to turn in the industry’s favour when they could provide tapes of supposedly disabled workers doing tasks they shouldn’t be able to when they think their not being seen.

For the private citizen, analogue technology was primarily used in the 1970’s and 1980’s for capturing the worst side of human nature – cheating spouses and poor parenting. Private detectives were able to provide more graphic and compelling evidence of affairs and parental stupidity with film than with still shots, and video tapes became frequent evidence in family court. The drawback in many cases was that after a while, owners and employees would become complacent and not change the tapes daily or the tapes would wear out after months of being re-used. There was also the problem of recording at night or in low light. While the concept was good, the technology hadn’t yet peaked. The next step was the Charged Coupled Device camera (CCD), which used microchip computer technology. These new cameras broadened the practical applications of video surveillance by allowing low light and night recording possible.

Since these early systems there have been many developments in the area and they are now more advanced and unlike the VCR systems that cause problems with storage in some cases the recordings can be stored either on a DVD which is much smaller in size or on a computer hard drive.

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Cameras are now a major influence on our lives especially in the UK where we have embraced the technology to a greater extent than any other country. It has reached a stage now where almost every trip you make you are being watched or recorded. A simple trip to your local town centre is likely to result in your image being recorded thousands of times. It has obviously not always been like this, thirty years ago you could probably have travelled the length of the country without being recorded.

There are a number of factors that perhaps make our country differ from some of our European neighbours. A long standing terrorist threat and the introduction of the “nanny state” meant there was a lead from government to introduce CCTV that left the data protection act and the civil rights campaigners playing catch up. Whatever your thoughts about the intrusiveness of camera systems it would seem that they are now an everyday part of our lives and need to be considered when we are giving advice to our clients. Moreover with the deskilling of these systems they may even now be considered a viable product range. CCTV products were originally a spin off from the broadcast industry. Unfortunately this presented a number of major disadvantages. The broadcast industry could boast well lit studios and a very stable environment. It was could afford highly qualified technicians who were skilled at setting up the often temperamental old fashioned tube cameras. As a result the only CCTV systems were in very high security installations, generally with big budgets and lots of light.

With the arrival of the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) everything began to change. Now an image could be focused directly from the lens onto the device and the signal processed by microelectronics to create a half decent image. Originally the chips were large and expensive but you may have noticed that over the years camera specifications have gone from 1 inch down to ¼ inch and with the reduced size came a reduction in price. An increase in the ability to process the signal, reduce noise (unwanted signal) and amplify the good bits resulted in better pictures and a far better low light ability. The CCTV industry expanded alongside the camcorder industry and finally left broadcast behind to become an industry in its own right. Neither could match the quality of the broadcast industry but this was more than made up for with the continually falling costs and the ease of installation and operation.

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 * History of video monitoring in the UK**

**1913**: surreptious photography of imprisoned suffragettes begins.

**1949**: publication of George Orwell's //1984,// which is set in London.

**1960**: Metropolitan Police use two temporary cameras in Trafalgar Square to monitor crowds attracted to the arrival of the Thai royal family.

**5 November 1960**: Metropolitan Police use two temporary cameras in Trafalgar Square to monitor "Guy Fawkes Day" activity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1961**: installtion of video surveillance system at a London Transport train station.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1964**: Liverpool police experiment with four covert CCTV cameras in the city's center.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1965**: British Railways installs cameras to watch tracks near Dagenham that had been vandalized.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1967**: Photoscan (business) markets video surveillance systems to retail outlets as a means of deterring and catching shoplifters.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**October 1968**: Metropolitan Police use temporary cameras in Grosvenor Square to monitor anto-Vietnam War demonstrators.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1969**: Metropolitan Police install permanent cameras in Grosvenor Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square. Total number of cameras nationally: 67.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1974**: installation of video surveillance systems to monitor traffic on the major arterial roads in and through London.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1975**: installation of video surveillance system in four London Underground train stations.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1975**: use of video surveillance systems at soccer matches begins.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1984**: installation of surveillance cameras at major rallying points for public protest in central London. Picketers surveilled during miners' strike.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**August 1985**: installation of street-based video surveillance system in Bournemouth, a south coast seaside resort.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1987**: use of video surveillance systems at parking garages owned by local authorities begins.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1988**: installation of video surveillance systems at "council estates" run by local authorities.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1989**: civil rights group Liberty publishes //Who's watching you? video surveillance in public places.//

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1992**: installation of street-based video surveillance system in Newcastle (a major northern city). The system in Newcastle is closed-circuit television (CCTV) that uses microwaves (an open circuit) to link to the city's main police station.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1992**: use of speed cameras and red-light enforcement cameras on the national road network begins.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**August 1993**: bombing of Bishopsgate in London by the IRA leads to the construction of the "Ring of Steel" around the City (London financial district). Measures include street-based surveillance cameras.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1994**: central government (the Home Office) publishes //CCTV: Looking Out for You.// Prime Minister John Major states: "I have no doubt we will hear some protest about a threat to civil liberties. Well, I have no sympathy whatsoever for so-called liberties of that kind." Between 1994 and 1997, the Home Office spends a total of 38 million pounds of CCTV schemes.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**July 1994**: use of covert video surveillance systems at automatic teller machines (ATMs) begins.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**1996**: government spending on CCTV accounts for more than three-quarters of total crime prevention budget.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**August 1996**: all of England's major cities except Leeds have video surveillance systems in their city centers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**10 May 1997:** public demonstration against surveillance cameras in Brighton, organized by South Downs Earth First!.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**July 1997**: London police announce installation of surveillance camera system that automatically reads, recognizes and tracks automobiles by their license plates.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**October 1998**: use of face recognition software in the London Borough of Newham begins.

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