Closed Circuit Television, usually abbreviated to CCTV, is everywhere in today's society. In fact, when we go about our everyday lives it is virtually impossible to avoid it. If you take a bus to school, there will be a camera on it. When you pop out to the supermarket to buy some bread, a camera will be watching you walk around the shop. If you look up, you'll see cameras on many street corners, at bus stops, on trains and even in some public toilets. We seem to have developed an obsession with them!

In 2013, an article published in The Guardian (a British newspaper) stated that there was 1 camera for every 11 people in Britain. There are estimated to be around 6 million CCTV cameras across Britain - now that's a lot of cameras! Thanks to our apparent love of CCTV, Britain has been nicknamed the "surveillance state".

CCTV is a vital tool for the police and can help solve crimes - a notable example would be the James Bulger case from 1993. CCTV images meant that the two boys who committed the crime were caught and prosecuted. However, CCTV does not always have all the answers. Sometimes the images aren't clear enough to identify people; often, criminals obscure their faces to avoid being caught. Recently, some talking CCTV cameras have been installed in the UK. These react to movement, and warn criminals that their photo has been taken. 

In my opinion, CCTV has gone too far. As a nation, we rely on it far too much. At what point did we decide to replace police officers with technology? Many people claim to feel safer as a result of CCTV; if more police were around I'm sure they'd feel just as safe! Many schools across Britain have installed CCTV - in classrooms, toilets and changing rooms. They say it helps to prevent bullying - but surely something else could be done instead?