Britain plans total electronic surveillance of roads.

Is Britain doing the right thing by total surveillance of traffic? It seems to weed out the drivers who are causing untold problems.

Britain is close to saturation point; they have to do something drastic. I sympathize with the police.

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Britain plans total electronic surveillance of roads.
January 11, 2006
LONDON - First there was closed-circuit TV. Then speed cameras. Then DNA profiling, plans for ID cards, and cellphone data storage.

In March, Britain will enhance its reputation as the surveillance capital of the West with a global first: recording the movements of all cars on the road and storing the data for at least two years.

It's a network of thousands of cameras harnessed to software that can read car license plates, check them against a central database, and alert police to suspected criminals or terrorists.Police chiefs are thrilled at the technology, arguing it will provide an unrivaled crime-fighting tool that will also aid antiterror efforts.

In regional trial runs, the number of arrests per officer shot up from around 10 per year to 100 per year. Convictions also increased.