Big Brother Watches To No Avail In U.K.
The British government, not content with merely observing its citizens, has plans to electronically scold them too:
...officials in the UK were experimenting with security cameras that would also scold people, if it spotted them littering or some other form of public nuisance. Apparently, however, the program has been a success, and there are plans to use these scolding surveillance cameras in 20 additional areas throughout England. However, to make the systems seem more friendly, they're talking about holding contests for local school children to become the "voice" of the surveillance cameras. Apparently, if you make it into a game, you can hope that kids will accept the concept of "Big Brother" at a young age. (Link: Big Brother Sounds So Much Cuter With The Voice Of A Local School Kid, techdirt)
Although the British government has its eyes on just about everyone (Wikipedia puts the figure at one camera for every fourteen people), crime is on the rise.
City Journal writes:
Britain is experiencing a spate of murders that suggests a population increasingly unable, or unwilling, to control itself. A recent survey suggested that the British are now more prone to knife-fights than any other people in Europe. Guns have also become fashionable, despite—or is it because of?—stringent laws against them.
Indeed, in spite of the fact that the government has its eyes, ears, and nose everywhere, the Telegraph, a U.K. newspaper, informs its readers that a U.N. report England (along with Wales) places second in assaults.
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