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Reid shrugs off Big Brother fears with expansion of 'talking cameras'
HOME Secretary John Reid is unveiling plans today to expand the use of "talking" CCTV cameras across the country.
Loudspeakers are being fitted to cameras in 20 areas, allowing CCTV operators to bark commands at people committing anti-social behaviour.
An existing scheme in Middlesbrough has been used to stop vandals and tell litterbugs to pick up their rubbish.
Council workers in a control centre can monitor pictures from 12 talking cameras in the town and communicate directly with people on the street at the flick of a switch.
The scheme has been criticised by opponents as "Big Brother gone mad".
But Mr Reid insisted it was proven to work and the communities sharing nearly 500,000 in grants to adapt cameras would feel the benefits.
"The new funding for Talking CCTV is aimed at the small minority who think it is acceptable to litter our streets, vandalise our communities and damage our properties," he said.
"We all pay council tax so in the end we all pay when our communities are
disrespected - both in our pockets as well as in our daily lives."
Competitions are being held at schools in many of the areas for children to become the "voice" of CCTV cameras, Mr Reid said.
"Local communities are rightly fed up with littering and anti-social behaviour – they want to remind people about what is, and is not respectful behaviour," he said. "By funding and supporting these local schemes, the Government is encouraging children to send this clear message to grown ups: act anti-socially and you will face the shame of being publicly embarrassed."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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