Real person or CCTV?

[answerbok]

Do you like, or dislike, if a person on the street takes your photo? What if it's 'only' a CCTV and it may or may not have zoom or a human monitoring it [you wouldn't know]? Or do you love it all? or do you hate it?

[treaclefight]

i love cctv, when my eldest was about 4 years old, she asked what the cctv cameras were, i said that they were there so people could watch what was happening, she asked who was watching and in a moment of almost divine inspiration i said 'father christmas'. all my children believe that father christmas watches everything they do, living in london there is cctv everywhere, so there's no escaping him. on a more serious note, video evidence takes alot of pressure off of witnesses when it comes to criminal behaviour and cctv does act as a deterrent to a certain extent. not being a 'street criminal' myself i dont worry too much about it.

[answerbok]

and if it's a person, [neighbour, tourist etc.] rather than a CCTV, do you love that more or less?

[Lennon]

If it was a person taking a picture, I wouldn't like that at all. Its never happened to me, but I'd hate it as I'd wanna know why they were taking it or what they were gonna do with it - shame, but in this day and age, I'm quite suspicious of a lot of things. As for CCTV, I don't see how it hurts - as long as you're not doing anything dodgy, I think it can prove to be very useful, as in the case recently of a girl who was attacked but managed to escape but it was caught on CCTV and that looks to be a great help so far in the case.

[bluedolphin]

We are entering the last years of privacy. CCTV, Mobile phones with cameras, tiny camcorders,webcams ....even our local sweet shop has a bloody CCTV....while they might solve the odd crime, I dont think the loss of privacy is worth it. Perhaps in the future peaked caps will be banned in some places coz they obscure your face from the ever present cctv. By the way what do people generally do when the see someone (stranger) taking their photo ?

[woodpam]

The "peaked cap" day is here already, Bluedolphin. Banks and Building societies request that motorcycle helmets are removed on their premises for just this reason. As a woman who has to return to my car loaded up with laptop and handbag regularly, I only use car parks that have CCTV in operation. I think if someone just took my picture, I would challenge them as to why they wanted it and take steps to avoid it in the first place if possible.

[treaclefight]

i think its a question of priorities, i dont want to be photographed / filmed without my knowledge in my own home, that is an invasion of privacy. but if i'm out in public then i cant see the problem, i dont object to other people looking at me when i'm in a public place, i dont see that there's much difference if my image is recorded, especially as the good it does outweighs the bad, our local high street was the scene of atleast one robbery every week until cctv was installed. i appreciate that the culprits have probably only moved onto some other form of crime, but my life is easier now that my nan will go get her pension on her own. public places are public and the needs of the public as a whole override the desires of the individual in such public places, your own home is the place for privacy.

[banana]

It doesnt bother me - as long as I dont have to look at the result. On the subject of CCTV I read recently of a city type chap who was on the phone in his office when he became concious of a cctv camera aimed at him. He mouthed "are you filming me?" - and the camera slowly nodded !

[answerbok]

thanx everyone; great answer banana, [..if you don't have to see result], don't know about the 2nd bit, [..nodding] but brilliant anyway :-)

[gilf]

I always give a little wave to the CCTV camera's if they point at me.