An Eye on the Surveillance Society

to Surveillance Society

by R B L Stiltskin

Part I: Nothing to Fear

If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear. The phrase could be adopted as a surveillance company motto, or; your all stars of reality TV now suckers, mostly for the benefit of a private audience.

Occasionally you might be fortunate enough to sit on a bus with flat screens streaming live life within a moving metal cage so that you might keep track of the actions of your fellow creatures if you‘re that way inclined. Human nature dictates that we look out for one another, right? Perhaps this is why Big Brother is so popular.

Look people, there you are being watched by someone, entertain. This is nearly as enjoyable as theorizing Life for some “CCTV operators” watching a portion of digitalised existence pass by, attempting to anticipate the possibility of any illegal activity for the good of the people.

Seeing myself appear in high-definition on the bus TV came as a shock to me. I’d made the mistake of sitting right before a camera staring down with its lightless lens, safe from vandalism in its shock-proof dark dome. I fumbled my Guinness out of sight, looked forward just like everyone else, and pretended everything was fine wishing I had a book or some tunes, or a thermal sleeping bag suit.

We’re all law abiding citizens here, sir, we are not afraid.

We all like to be secure, if only in the false sense. The presence of cameras may deter serious criminal activity but according to an internal police report last year only 1 in 1000 London crimes are solved using CCTV (and there’s over a million cameras throughout this sprawl of city.)

In Nazi Germany people were encouraged to spy on their neighbours. Countless innocents got locked up on hearsay. If they had CCTV back then, maybe the blameless could have been verified as not guilty while the real criminals could have been exposed and brought to justice (with the right people in charge.)

CCTV does have its benefits. But it all depends on who is monitoring our behaviour patterns. Being only human we tend to make mistakes, CCTV operators included. It’s all part of the learning process. Apparently we are getting so predictable now that our government believes computer-controlled drones high in the sky have the capability to analyze our movements, and our dear politicians are actually pondering this notion, according to The Guardian. The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the last body in the way of drone manufacturer BAE systems, also responsible for the provision of technology used on the so-called front line of the War on Terror.

If they have their way, the board of BAE will be laughing. It’s always a bonus having an investor with a bottomless pocket.

But I can’t help question the necessity of all this spying, and the lack of consent in this so-called free society. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be on telly.

Surely CCTV operators are still capable and trustworthy, and the police not bound by paperwork and complexities. Will these new drones end up with the same infra-red technology as your average law enforcement helicopter, or will this evolution of ideology within our world freeze as it is? Everything seems to be heading somewhere, but directions are not yet cemented. At least compulsory ID cards are not systematic just yet.

Part II: Closed circuit celebrity

Improvements in surveillance technology are advancing at a rapid rate, step by step they are integrated into daily life.

As with all big buck industries, progress is the key to sustaining profit. New products are developed behind closed doors and snapped up by eager buyers discontent with systems already in place. Clearly they want to keep us safe from all those baddies out there.

But in this busy world it is hard to tell who is the bad man anymore, who is out there to cause harm? Perhaps this is why some think a digitally monitored existence is the key to a safer world.

Keeping an eye on us lot must be a nightmare for those with pure intentions, trained to spot possible trouble. At least they’ve got the right people in charge. People just like you or me, or that twat round the corner who is not amused.

Secretly they want us to perform, maybe. “Smile, you’re on camera,” Transport For London indicates about the place, reminding us of our newfound closed circuit celebrity status.

A lot of thought is put behind the best ways to view us, but it is just a job for those at the controls following their employer’s rules.

For under 200 pounds I could gain myself the qualification to watch all you weird freaks darting around on screens before me, if I really wanted to.

Obtaining a Security Industry Authority CCTV operating licence is cheaper than a degree, but it’s not my cup of tea. The hours can be long and inactive, with no time for distractions like doodling or music. Besides, I can monitor CCTV on the bus for free with my own soundtrack playing (but I’d rather not.)

Trying not to spill the Guinness in my pocket I made my way down from the top deck, wondering whose eyes were upon me, when I was to be broadcast on screen. I haven’t prepared myself, where’s my script?

Unhappy nobody had contacted my agent regarding payment, I pressed the bell twice and jumped out into the bitter cold. Sirens sung their song in the distance, their call gradually getting louder till three undercover police cars zoomed past.

Outside the underground station, beneath the glare of a camera watched by lawful officers safe in their lair, a man fought against the wind to light his glass pipe keeping his body and face to the wall, his features out of sight.

For the time being people like him are of no threat to the order of things. No sirens were searching for him but his ambiguous actions may have aroused suspicion among his watchers.

Shepherd’s Bush, like much of London, is reputed for being home to a number of mostly nocturnal crazies who stand out from the crowd, who the watchers are used to. That night it was also home to a fundraiser for Haiti.

Before heading underground into the former public toilets now serving alcohol, I met up with Bollo. Knowing we could not afford to buy beer inside and donate, we took our custom to a nearby off-licence and after some consideration bought two six-packs of that heralded favourite among wife beaters and the rowdy.

Beneath a camera wired to the wider circuit, Bollo and I began to get drunk and stupid safe in the knowledge that the memory was being recorded and stored digitally on some highly secure computer network. I’m sure it would be easy to acquire a copy should we struggle to recall what happened?

Part III: Analogue Logic

Last time I’d seen Bollo, the streets of west London had been shut down to traffic by a crowd there to prove a point against prevailing fascism. After nightfall we were drunk in the middle of the road.

The police were just as confused as the demonstrators, unable to pen us in despite rehearsed efforts. They captured a number of faces on a bazooka-shaped camera with a retina burning flash, however. This brought about a sense of confusion amongst most of those who had never seen a device like it before and had had no idea how useful a high-definition photo could be.

Face recognition technology has come a long way. Images can be relayed digitally to a computer able to trace limited past histories of those on its database. If we’re innocent we have no reason to think twice about the necessity for us all to be watched most of the time. When our faces are traced gold stars appear by our names.

We’re famous now, we best make the most of it. Some statistic cites that snippets of our lives are caught on camera around 300 times a day in this metropolis, the data stored on a computer that could never comprehend just how deep Life goes beyond the lens.

According to a 2006 report for the UK Information Commissioner, “there is already all-to-little knowledge either among the public or among data-sharing agencies about where exactly those data travel” (A Report on the Surveillance Society: Summary.)

“The idea that policy interventions be ‘intelligence-led’ has taken hold and this, along with the networking and data-matching potentials of today’s digital infrastructures, means that surveillance appears to operate by a logic of its own.”

Being well-behaved and respectable citizens Bollo and I were ignored by patrol cars for most of the night, but a madman seemed to take a shine to us. We could sense him as he crept closer. He reeked of insanity.

We knew what was to come, but we stayed calm; give him a bit of our time without allowing any chance for a full-blown conversation, not tonight.

He told us all his friends had run away, and we wondered why. He offered us some whiskey, said he wanted to hang out with cool cats, said his name was Alfredo.

We declined the drink and pointed him in the direction of the next bench along where a man had been having a very animated conversation with several invisible disciples for quite some time. Jake, Eddie, whatever his name is, now that guy over there; he is a cool cat.

Alfredo took a swig of whiskey and shuffled on, Bollo and I watched curious to see what would happen… Had we just united two drunk psychopaths, reigniting their once suppressed murderous instincts that had been smouldering inside for so long? Of course not, we hoped. Besides, the police would be sent this way at the first sign of trouble notified by CCTV operators with an acute sense for possible violent situations.

After they had introduced each other they embraced like long lost friends before plotting global domination.

Part IV: Smile like you mean it

The police reversed silently and slow, winding down the window. I hadn’t seen them till it was too late. We’d been waiting for a bus south for a while, the shop said we could no longer top up our travel cards after 2 am. No bus driver had the heart to help us louts stranded far from home with no money.

I had been kicking a bin designed to bounce back up again, thus perturbing vandalism. That bin must have seen some hard times. Its resilience intensified my curiosity, I could not help repeating my actions. Not a drop of rubbish spilled, but for some reason my antics drew police attention our way. Clearly they deemed this behaviour out of the ordinary, it’s not something I do everyday. Some force drew my foot uncontrollably to that bin, as if it was already known the bin would not topple.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” one of them said in true cop tone. I froze, unsure how to explain that I was merely intrigued by the way the bin kept rebounding. Performance art, I should’ve said.

“A joke,” I settled with. Smoke seemed to pour from my pocket, there was a brief silence. All of us trying to figure out what was going on.

“Well, it’s not very funny, is it?” Another one chimed, and then after another silence they drove off with a unified shrug of confusion.

“If that was me I would’ve been arrested,” Bollo said as another bus arrived with CC Television viewing for our pleasure. It wasn’t too long ago when those flatscreens broadcast only trivia and advertisements.

Life changes quick in this world we are living in. Sometimes it is easy to lose track of the constant evolution of urban surroundings. Laws change quick to keep up with all this constant possibility found in between concrete, the boundaries of Common Law can be defined in many ways, depending on personal sensitivities.

There’s not enough time to be in tune with all that is happening, what’s happening has been in motion for a while. Aware of what goes on beyond our extraordinary lives we carry on valuing freedom and joy more than any monetary currency.

Occasionally, time seems to work on our side slowing down instead of speeding up when we are having fun.

A kind driver on the other side of reinforced glass rendered irrelevant waited patiently while we fumbled our pockets for change. Get on, I’m going that way anyway, he said with a swing of his head, and we obeyed walking past the sign reminding us to smile. But it was too late, the cameras had already caught us grinning.

We both thanked the driver, also smiling in his dark booth, knowing his actions made no difference to his paycheque. With no camera focussed on him ensuring he abide by company regulations, he can let on who he pleases.

On the top deck, one man alone heard our words and saw us becoming more foolish each time we appeared on the carefully placed TV screen easily seen from the back seat.

In the meantime, deals are struck and decisions taken affecting the planet; we keep out of this multi-faceted chess game played out on a level beyond us. I go about my business, valuing my life, wondering what kind of behaviour the SAMURAI (googlit) systems will consider abnormal, hoping that I’m not the only one who thinks all this surveillance is just a little bit strange.

(The framework is in place for a very well-behaved, carefully watched society. Grannies getting pulled up for eating biscuits in the wrong places etc...)

An Eye on the Surveillance Society

15.4.10

Welcome

11.3.10

Are we being cloned? (from OnMedica)

An Eye on the Surveillance Society

Council could prosecute over anti-CCTV stickers

More cameras, please...

Expect the drones to swarm on Britain in time for 2012 (The Guardian)

UK schools put CCTV in bathrooms (Security Info Watch)

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