The fisrt CCTV cameras appeared in Britain in 1953, and by the 1960s there were already a few cameras in major streets in London. Today, there are more than four milion CCTV cameras across the country. That's one camera for every fourteen people. The cameras are there to film dangerous or illegal behaviour. With new software, they can automatically recognise the faces of known criminals, and a new kind of CCTV in the NEtherlands can detect angry voices and automatically warn the police of trouble.
The amount of surveillance in town and cities across Britain is increasing. Some goods in shops now have RFID tags attached to them. When you pick up on of these items, the RFID tag sends a radio massage to a CCTV camera and the camera starts filming you. Shops say that this technology helps to catch shoplifters
. Every time you make or receive a call on your mobile phone, the phone company konowns the number of the phone are calling and how long the call lasts. It is even possible to work out your exact location. The police often use this information when they're investing serious crimes.