Please Note - Doktor Jon is currently upgrading his site, so you may see some layout changes on various pages, whilst the work is in progress.
Hopefully, the complete re-design and improvements, should be completed by early 2010.

IMPORTANT: No material may be reproduced, copied or redistributed from this site, without the express written consent of doktorjon.co.uk
All the detailed information on this site is provided in good faith; and as such, Doktor Jon does not accept responsibility for any consequential loss, injury or disadvantage resulting from any individual or organisation acting on the details contained herein.

© doktorjon.co.uk 2004 - 2010

Signalling the changes - It's been revealed that out of 165 cameras being used for traffic monitoring in the indian city of Bangalore, 35 are not working for a large part of the day due to connectivity issues. Whilst the technology is IP based and there are both copper and fibre optic cables available, unplanned and unregulated road works contribute to frequent cable breaks, which can often take up to a week to repair. Setting aside the issues of regular power outages, the authorities are now looking at converting the entire transmission infrastructure over to wireless signal operation. - Source - Bangalore Mirror 23rd December 2009

Blind to the obvious - Police in Auckland, New Zealand are trying to locate three female kidnappers, who held an 82 year old woman hostage in her car. The attackers forced the victim to hand over her credit cards and PIN numbers, then managed to get themselves clearly recorded on CCTV when they tried to use them to make purchases at the local shopping precinct. - Source - TV New Zealand 23rd December 2009

Kids deprived of the goat - For the last 43 years, residents in the swedish town of Gavle have installed a giant straw goat as part of their seasonal yule celebrations. Unfortunately, apart from being smashed, run over and having it's legs removed, the 15 metre high construction has also been torched on 24 seperate occasions, so this year the towns elders decided to install CCTV and a webcam to help protect the structure. Despite their best efforts, vandals still managed to reduce the construction to nothing more than a smouldering skeleton, literally days before christmas. - Source - USA Today 23rd December 2009

The damage is already done - A plastics manufacturing plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA has suffered around $3m of damage, following a concerted attack by a lone vandal. The suspect who may have been a former employee of the company, was caught briefly on a neighbouring business's CCTV system, but the images are of such poor quality as to be of only very limited value. Meanwhile the owner has reported that competitors have offered to provide spare manufacturing capacity, in order to help the company fulfil their existing orders. - Source - Indiana's News Center 23rd December 2009

Pull yourself together - A female resident of Altoona in Pennsylvania, USA has complained about a police monitored Public Space Surveillance camera which has been installed just 10 feet from her bedroom window. In response, the city's Director of Information Technology, has usefully pointed out that "No one's looking in anyone's window", adding that if she's doing something she doesn't want others to see, she can draw the blinds. - Source - AltoonaMirror.com 22nd December 2009

Camera's go up, crime goes down - It's been reported that across the United States, crime rates are at their lowest since the 1960's. The homicide rate in Los Angeles has dropped by around 19% this year, with criminologists citing surveillance cameras as a possible factor which may have contributed to the downturn. - Source - ABC 7 / KABC-TV Los Angeles 21st December 2009

Keeping the vulnerable in vision - Following the death of a dementia patient in a care home in New Zealand, the Coroner has suggested that CCTV may offer some assistance in keeping an eye on vulnerable patients. Commenting on a possible solution, the CEO of the Aged Care Association has said "...I'm not entirely comfortable with CCTV coverage - Source - NZ City 21st December 2009

She's so found out ... - A 35 year old mother who denied kicking and stamping on her male victim using her stilleto shoes, has been found guilty after her attack was graphically recorded on CCTV. The incident which occured outside the Castle Pub in Cambridge earlier this year, resulted in a conviction for 'actual bodily harm', with a 26 week suspended prison sentence, 180 hours of community service, and an order for costs and compensation. - Source - CambridgeNews.co.uk 21st December 2009

You know you don't want it - The UK's Information Commissioner Mr. Richard Graham, has recently announced his departments intention to carry out a significant analysis of surveillance during 2010. He has also indicated that future deployment of CCTV needs to be based on a specifc purpose rather than simply a desire, and has made clear his displeasure at some licensing authorities that insist on demanding CCTV as a matter of course. - Source - Telegraph.co.uk 20th December 2009

Not exactly a drop in the ocean - Housing authorities in Hong Kong are spending $2 million installing 10 additional mobile CCTV systems, to try and tackle the problem of people throwing objects off high buildings. The additional equipment will bring the total of sets deployed to 116, in addition to five extra special operation teams tasked with investigating the incidents. - Source - News.gov.hk 20th December 2009

Boys in blue ... with red faces - Embarassed police officers are being asked to explain how an 18 month old girl was inadvertantly handed over to the wrong person. The child was abducted from Walworth Police station in London, after a woman who was believed to be a friend of the mother's, calmly walked out with her despite the presence of CCTV cameras - STOP PRESS .... The woman who is believed to have mental issues, has subsequently been located and arrested, and the child returned to her mother. - Source - The Press Association 20th December 2009

When cameras don't always count - It appears that Southampton City Council may have been slightly economical with the truth, when civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, asked them to reveal how many CCTV cameras they operate. The council provided a figure of 339 for inclusion in the groups research, but the local newspaper has suggested that the actual total should have been 1,269. - Source - Southern Daily Echo 19th December 2009

Putting back the sparkle - Police in the town of Panchkula, India have directed all jewellery stores to install CCTV systems by the 5th January. The directive follows a spate of robberies, including one where five thieves impersonated police officers, in order to escape with their haul. The authorities have indicated that they want the recordings to be kept for a "few months". - Source - Thaindian News 19th December 2009

Not fit for the doghouse - A 28 year old man has been prosecuted by the RSPCA, after he was captured on CCTV viciously attacking his Staffordhire Bull Terrier, in Weymouth, Dorset. The dog called Max, was repeatedly beaten and kicked in a drunken attack that continued on camera over a 20 minute period, apparently as a punishment for having bitten the owner some time earlier. The local dog warden having described the incident as "...one of the worst cases of cruelty I have ever seen seen.", will no doubt be watching with interest when sentence is passed at the Magistrates Court, early in the new year. - Source - Dorset Echo 19th December 2009

Schools banking on surveillance - 90 surveillance cameras are to be installed outside 40 public schools across Chicago, following a $2m donation by Chase bank. It's reported that the video streams will be monitored both by the Chicago Police Department, and the office of emergency management and communications. - Source - ABC7 News - WLS-TV Chicago 18th December 2009

So that's who'se watching the watchers - The civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, have released a report entitled 'Big Brother is Watching', which details original research into the numbers of CCTV cameras being owned and operated by Local Councils throughout the UK. - Source - Guardian.co.uk 18th December 2009

Who says crime doesn't pay? - An unwitting motorist who offered a pensioner a lift, has ended up with fines of £ 240 (US$ 370, € 255 ) for briefly pulling up at a bus stop. The good samaritan's vehicle was captured on CCTV in the London Borough of Wandsworth, dropping off and picking up his elderly passenger, in less than a minute. - Source - MailOnline 18th December 2009

<<< More Global CCTV News from earlier this month