A Report on the Surveillance Society
elderly woman from the Sunnyview Retirement Village (where Geeta also lives) as causing trouble. The woman spotted the suspicious activity on the local video surveillance cameras. The cameras can be watched on the local security channels on digital TV, which also includes a ‘rogues’ gallery’ of those who have known to have infringed their PBSs.245 In residential areas, public area CCTV has almost entirely become Open-Circuit Television (OCTV). All under 18s are currently barred from entering or leaving the Estate from 6pm until 6am. For Sara, this means that to see her best friend, Aleesha, outside school hours, one of them has to risk an encounter with the estate’s Community Wardens, who are armed with tazers and tend to shot first and ask questions later. 33. Driving Change 33.1. When Gareth drives out of the community, the wrought-iron gates swing open automatically, and his number plate is read, noting his exact time of departure, and the number and identity of the driver and passengers. On the roads, ANPR has been nationwide since 2008 and there are now so many cameras there is no point in trying to second-guess where they are with scanners or maps any more. 33.2. In any case, the handheld computer that Gareth plugs into his car246 is linked to the Galileo global satellite navigation system247 and to state congestion cameras, and helps provide the quickest route. Finding the shortest route is also less expensive as through the ANPR system, car mileage is automatically charged to Gareth’s bank account.248 34. Friendly Flying Eyes in the Sky 34.1. Like the border, the shopping centre and school, the wider city of 2016 is at once more under surveillance yet sometimes less obviously so at an immediate glance. Security has been aestheticised; designed into many of the buildings and surveillance is built into the infrastructure and architecture – it is ubiquitous but has disappeared.249 Many important state buildings which had been surrounded by concrete barricades after 2001, now appear open once again, but are instead protected by a variety of sensors linked to impenetrable automated barricades that sink into the ground when not immediately needed. 34.2. When Ben and Aaron go into the centre of London to join an anti-war protest they are monitored by small remote-controlled spy planes, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).250 These were introduced for the Olympics of 2012, but instead of being withdrawn afterwards, the ‘success’ of these ‘friendly flying eyes in the sky’ 245 Such a scheme was introduced as an experiment in Shoreditch in London in 2006. It was immediately dubbed ‘ASBO TV’, see e.g.: Swinford, S., ‘Asbo TV helps residents watch out’, Times Online, 8 January 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1974974,00.html . 246 In 2016, most people now have these devices which incorporate roaming wireless Internet access, telephone services, computer navigation and more. The navigation function also ensures that the devices (and therefore their operators) are trackable. 247 Galileo is the European civil alternative to the US military GPS system. The first satellite was launched in 2004 and some services will be operational by 2008, see: ‘Galileo, European Satellite Navigation System’ CEC Directorate General Energy and Transport, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/galileo/intro/future_en.htm . 248 There are many potential schemes. See .e.g.: Independent Transport Commission (2006) Paying to Drive http://trg1.civil.soton.ac.uk/itc/p2d_main.pdf . 249 See: Infrastructure and Built Environment Expert Report. 250 UAVs have been in use by the US military for some years: currently the best-known example is the ‘Predator’ reconnaissance drone aircraft used in Iraq; see: ‘Predator RQ-1 / MQ-1 / MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), USA’, airforcetechnology.com, 2006, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/predator/ . Many uses have been suggested in the UK, see: Jha, A.,‘On the horizon ... pilotless planes as fishermen's and firefighters' friends’, The Guardian, 30 August 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1860825,00.html . In Los Angeles police are already experimenting with small remote control spy planes called ‘SkySeer’: Bowes, P., ‘High hopes for drone in LA skies’, BBC News, 6 June 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5051142.stm .
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