Wokingham is part of a national trend where CCTV use is being increased. IronmongeryDirect issued Freedom of Information requests to local authorities and found that almost seven in ten (69%) have increased their CCTV presence since 2019.
Across the UK, there are now 108,533 public cameras, representing an increase of 14% (12,960 new devices). This doesn’t include privately owned equipment, such as cameras operated by businesses or members of the public, so the overall total will be even greater.
The biggest rise in CCTV has been in Gwynedd, in north-west Wales, where the council now operates 468 cameras, compared to 101 in 2019 – an increase of 363%. A new system has recently been installed that added multiple static cameras in locations where there used to be one pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) device.
Wokingham Shows Huge Increase When Compared Nationally
The local authorities that have increased CCTV at the quickest rate since 2019 are:
Grant Fulton, CMC Operations Manager at Corps Monitoring, predicts that the number of CCTV cameras in the UK will continue to increase:
“As technology continues to advance, so too will the application of CCTV monitoring systems. Over the next few years, CCTV technology will improve our personal safety, the safety of our homes, businesses, assets, and far more. Currently, CCTV is mainly used for heatmaps and people counting but, in the future, CCTV-based facial recognition will be a significant part of our world, carrying major implications for personal device security and shopping.
Freedom of Information requests were issued to UK local authorities in July 2022. Data was supplied by 308 local authorities. See full report here