****UPDATED JUNE 2017****
Across the UK, there are thought to be around 1.85 million CCTV cameras, many of which are run by private companies. That figure comes from research by Cheshire Police, which involved police community support officers physically counting nearly every camera in Cheshire. They counted 12,333 cameras, which, extrapolated to the UK, brings the total estimate to 1,853,681 – one CCTV camera for every 32 UK citizens.
“The figure of 1.85 million is still a significant number of CCTV cameras,” said Graeme Gerrard, the national lead on CCTV for the Association of Chief Police Officers. “I’m not saying for a minute that this doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot of cameras.”
****UPDATED JULY 2015****
After a perhaps more reliable research process, the number of CCTV cameras in the entire width of the UK was put down to around 1.85 million, down from the original figure of 4.2 million.
The more recent figure, based on a more in depth analysis, put the top 0.15 million cameras as being spread out between public transport, and local authorities. This meant, that a whooping 1.7 million CCTV cameras are owned and run by private entities, giving testament to the erosion of civil liberty in the UK, and perhaps justifies the resultant public outcry. We couldn’t possibly comment.
****UPDATED JULY 2013****
According to the British Security Industry Association there are between 4 million and 5.9 million CCTV cameras in the UK
