How Many CCTV Cameras in London?
Have you ever stopped to wonder how many cameras have recorded your movements, on any given trip to the shop, day out, or journey around your home area and within our capital city, London? Well, we’re here to tell you just how many CCTV cameras there are in London, why there are so many and offer up some statistics that may surprise you.
How many CCTV cameras in London?
It is estimated that there are 500,000 CCTV cameras dotted around London.
You may be asking yourself why so many?
But due to criminal activity and CCTV Legal Requirements, many businesses invest in CCTV to improve their business security.
This is also the same for domestic use, inside and outside the home to deter crime, especially in a capital city where the footfall is huge and crime rates tend to be higher.
CCTV Cameras in London
Going by the amount of CCTV cameras recognised and used by the council and government buildings, studies still attempt to find out the amount of CCTVs used amongst private businesses and individual households. Although the calculations can be troublesome, a figure of 500,000 provides a good estimate of surveillance cameras in London.
What about the London Underground CCTV?
To ensure safety and reduce crime in an extremely busy underground system like London’s, there are an extensive number of CCTV cameras in operation to fight crime. With 15,516 cameras in action in the Underground alone, we’re interested in how they’re dispersed between the stations.
Studies show that the most cameras can be found in King’s Cross and St. Pancras with 408, monitoring roughly 81 million people per year. This is followed by the top nine stations:
- Oxford Circus – 309
- Waterloo – 303
- Green Park – 210
- Elephant & Castle – 190
- Bank/Monument – 182
- Westminster – 177
- Piccadilly Circus – 175
- Wembley Park – 171
- Canary Wharf – 167
As you can imagine, this results in an incredible amount of footage, but believe it or not, it is still held for two weeks.
An obvious reason as to why there are more CCTV cameras in some places than others is because crime rates tend to be higher in Kings Cross and St Pancras as opposed to Canary Wharf.
Not to mention that these are much larger stations that pull in more footfall due to tourism; this is a similar case to Oxford Circus and Waterloo, attracting footfall to the famous London Eye and Westminster Abbey.
Tourists can be unfamiliar to the area’s geography or traditional London customs, making them easy targets for petty criminals such as pickpockets or scam artists. That being said, this doesn’t mean to say that other busy locations such as Wembley Park lack in CCTV activity; 171 units is still an impressive amount there to monitor sport supporters and music fans.
London CCTV Facts
With countless cameras in operation around London, what would be interesting to know is: is this the same worldwide?
- 25 Million CCTV Cameras: Globally it is estimated that there are approximately 25 million CCTV cameras, and Britain holds a high percentage of these with a recorded number of around 4 million. The United Kingdom has more CCTV activity than any other European country, per capita. This is also reflected in the facts; surprisingly, the Wandsworth borough in London in particular has more CCTV cameras than Boston, Dublin, Johannesburg and San Francisco put together.
- Caught on Camera 300 Times: It is also a well known fact that the average person living in London will be recorded on camera 300 times in one day; an individual doesn’t need to go far without being caught on camera.
- Over £300 million: Between the years 2007 and 2010, over £300m was spent on the installation and operation of CCTV units alone. These have all been put into place to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour and should crime occur, these events will be recorded and used lawfully to seek justice.
London CCTV Statistics
The area of London is divided into 33 boroughs and the number of cameras in each of these areas vary, due to factors such as:
- Crime levels
- Transport links
- Footfall
London CCTV statistics from the BBC show that the two areas with the most amount of cameras per 1,000 people are Wandsworth and Camden.
As a result, more people may live in this area, due to its useful transport links, so the population of people in this area will always be high.
Camden on the other hand has larger footfall from tourism due to its large number of attractions, performance venues and a popular alternative shopping scene. Thus, there are more private businesses that would be investing in CCTV cameras to ensure the welfare of their companies.
With a smaller number of cameras in the borough of Hounslow, located on the outskirts of London, we can make some smart assumptions. Being situated on the outskirts of London, it’s safe to assume Hounslow presents less attractions, less tourism and a smaller number of busy railway stations.
Consequently, there’s less reason for there to be as many cameras as an inner city borough. Although Hounslow is a somewhat large and affluent area, it can be argued that lower crime rates has meant there is no need for a large amount of CCTV.
The number of CCTV cameras does not appear to be directly proportional to the size of the borough.
How Many People in London?
To find out how many people there are in London, it’s important to review the latest census, which was made in 2011.
Based on this official count the number of people in London was 8 million. Before this figure, in 2001 the census accounted for 7 million people, a rise of 1m people in a decade. However, the population now in 2017 is estimated to be 10.5 million.
How Many CCTV Cameras in UK?
With a good idea of how many CCTV cameras there are in the capital city of the United Kingdom, it would be interesting to know how many CCTV cameras there are in the whole of the UK itself.
Recent studies from the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) show that there are between 4m and 5.9m CCTV cameras in the UK. These estimates are based on information collected from over 200 sectors, including sewage works, local shops and educational systems.
This study includes both public facing and private cameras and counts those situated in store rooms, as well as watching the pavement outside shops. As businesses grow and population increases – due to higher birth rates and increased life expectancy – more and more private sectors are taking the initiative by investing in CCTV to protect their companies and livelihoods.
What’s also interesting to know is that major UK cities are also heavily populated with CCTV cameras. Cities such as:
- Belfast
- Edinburgh
- Coventry
- Wigan
- Glasgow
- Manchester
- Birmingham
In fact, these cities have more closed circuit TV monitoring than Paris.
So if it’s estimated that there’s 500,000 CCTV cameras in London, there’s still an astounding 3.5 million left that are distributed around the rest of the UK.
This goes to show that it’s not just large cities, transport, courts and police stations that use CCTV for crime prevention. More people are buying into the benefits of CCTV, and quite rightly so.
In 2009, 95% of Scotland Yard murder cases involved CCTV footage, providing invaluable evidence that enabled both the police and the courts to tackle crimes quickly and effectively.
As London is the largest city and biggest attraction for tourism, more and more people are taking it upon themselves to monitor their homes and businesses to deter crime and make for a more peaceful country. With effective CCTV solutions becoming more affordable and higher in resolution, now is the time to invest to secure your home or business.
Get in touch with Caught on Camera Ltd today for your very own top of the range, digital CCTV systems. Our experts also provide flawless installations, CCTV maintenance and general repairs. Whether you would like expert advice or wish to book our services, call us today so you can secure your property correctly.
