Praise where it’s due

Back from conference and will be posting more regularly from now on.

Given the way that civil liberties and surveillance are going in this country, it's all too easy to focus on the negative.  Big Brother Watch is keen to highlight good developments in the to and fro of the surveillance state struggle, too.

So – praise be to Pangbourne, where West Berkshire Council stuck up a whopping CCTV mast in the middle of a little village, listened to the urging of residents and realised that it was entirely inappropriate, and promptly took it back down again. Instead, that highly complex bit of kit, a light, will be there to provide a little more security.

It's a useful little demonstration of the fact that there are alternatives (often cheaper, often more effective) to the CCTV upon which our law enforcement has become so reliant.

By Alex Deane