The feeling of insecurity in certain metropolises, the fear of terrorism, but also the idea that a citizen's private life ultimately counts as a negligible quantity in the face of potential dangers: these are all factors that are leading to an increase in the number of video surveillance cameras around the world. Of course, there is surveillance and there is surveillance, and we can try to assess the limits that must not be crossed, otherwise citizens will feel as if they are living in the midst of Orwell's 1984. However, reality now seems to be outstripping fiction in some metropolises, particularly in China.
In a study of the world's most surveilled cities by camera, based on statistics supplied by interior ministries and police departments, the British comparison site Comparitech notes that China is the country that uses the most video surveillance. In the top 10 most surveilled cities in the worldOf these, eight are actually in China, the only other cities being London and Atlanta.
The result is not all that surprising, given that China has become the champion of an Orwellian world. The country is currently implementing a new system of general surveillancewhich should be fully operational in 2020. In particular, it will make it possible to note the good behaviour of citizens based on their actions and lifestyle choices in both the public and private spheres. For example, the system can already be used to restrict travel of certain citizens...
The world rankings were published on 15 August and it's Chongqing the world's most surveilled city. According to Comparitech, the Central Chinese metropolis was home to.., more than 2.5 million cameras for 15.3 million people168.03 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants. The towns of Shenzhen - 159.09 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants and Shanghai with 113.46 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of Beijing should feel freer to move around. There are "only" 39.93 CCTV cameras per 1,000 inhabitants.
Outside China, the city with the highest number of video surveillance cameras is Londonranked 6th with 68.40 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants. Atlanta in the United States, which features in the top 10, has "only" 15.56 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants.
For Europe, the top 10 according to the Comparitech study is dominated by London, followed by MoscowBerlin, Warsaw, Vienna, Istanbul and St Petersburg, MadridBudapest and Athens. Paris and its suburbs rank eleventh, with 33,479 video surveillance cameras for almost 11 million inhabitants. This ultimately implies a ratio of only 3.06 cameras per 1,000 inhabitants. Comparitech indicates that the French capital will have 35,000 cameras in the short term, with the ratio rising to 3.19 cameras per 1,000 people.
Among the towns and cities planning to invest heavily in video surveillance cameras are Kievwhich plans to increase the number of cameras from 6,000 to 126,000 - raising the ratio from 2.1 cameras per 1,000 people to 42.77 - and, more surprisingly Athenswhich plans to equip its streets with 25,000 cameras of additional surveillance cameras, with the ratio jumping from 3.36 to 11.29 cameras per 1,000 people.
European cities will nevertheless find it hard to match the figures of their Chinese counterparts. China has already announced its intention to equip itself with a network of 629 million video surveillance cameras by the beginning of the next decade. That's one camera for two people...
