British Police May Start Monitoring Conversations On The Street

Not only are we one of the most spied-on nation in the world with 4.2m CCTV cameras filming us on average 300 times a day, police and councils are now considering monitoring conversations in the street using high-powered microphones attached to CCTV cameras.

The equipment can pick up aggressive tones on the basis of 12 factors, including decibel level, pitch and the speed at which words are spoken. Background noise is filtered out, enabling the camera to focus on specific conversations in public places.

The devices are used at 300 sites in Holland and police, councils and transport officials in London have shown an interest in installing them before the 2012 Olympics.