The United Kingdom is listed among the most surveilled countries in the world.

Its capital city, London, also made the cut among the cities with the highest CCTV penetration per 1,000 inhabitants.

It is the only city outside China and India that entered the list. 

But how many CCTV cameras in London are there is the real question. In this article, you will find out the answer to this question.

Make sure to tune in until the end to find many worth-noting facts about this novel surveillance technology.

How Many CCTV Cameras in London are There in 2023?

As the answer to the question, “how many CCTV cameras in London are there in 2023?”, there are a lot! 

Before 2022, there were around 628,000 devices of this kind are spread throughout the United Kingdom’s capital city, London.

This means one camera is installed for every 14 residents or 73.3 units in every 1,000 members of the population.

The numbers have increased rapidly.

London has an estimated 942,000 units installed for its 9.4 million residents or one for every 10 people.

In terms of the number of devices per size of the location, there are 1,552 CCTV cameras per square mile.

When traveling to London, make sure to be attentive as you are likely captured by these devices up to 70 times per day!

The frequency can be higher at 300 times when you go or live in CCTV hotspots.

London has the Third Highest CCTV Density

The city has the third-highest CCTV density per a thousand people in the world, topped only by two cities, Taiyuan and Wuxi, both located in China.

Taiyuan, Shanxi Province’s biggest city dominated the list with 465,000 units for its total population of only 3.9 million people.

The ratio of CCTV to people is one per eight people.

There are close to 800 million CCTV cameras spread throughout the world today.

This is expected to hit a billion units in the coming years as countries continue to increase surveillance to maintain peace and order among communities.

CCTV Cameras in London Towns

London towns have experienced massive growth in the number of CCTV cameras in a ten-year span from 2012 to 2022.

Here is the list of their latest individual CCTV count in 2022 and their respective rate of change:

• Kensington and Chelsea – 809 CCTV units with a 1,294% increase in the last 10 years
• Waltham Forest – 850 CCTV units with a 1,097% increase in 10 years
• Barking and Dagenham – 728 CCTV units with a 533% increase in 10 years
• Enfield – 1,053 CCTV units with a 523% increase in 10 years
• Sutton – 498 CCTV units with a 485% increase in 10 years
• Kingston upon Thames – 627 CCTV units with a 422% increase in 10 years
• Greenwich – 734 CCTV units with a 324% increase in 10 years

The UK government has been investing heavily in strengthening its CCTV department since the 1990s, particularly focusing on main business districts like London.

Highly Monitored Cities in the United Kingdom 

Aside from London, here are some other cities in the United Kingdom considered ‘highly monitored,’ as to the data released by IFSEC Global in 2020.

• Manchester – 248,000 CCTV units
• Birmingham – 109,000 CCTV units
• Liverpool – 82,000 CCTV units
• Newcastle – 74,000 CCTV units

How Many CCTV Cameras in are there in the United Kingdom

Now that you already know how many CCTV cameras in London are there, it is time to look at the bigger picture and find out how many are installed in the entire United Kingdom.

There are five (5) million CCTV installations in the entire country or 7.5 units per a hundred people.

It occupies the fourth spot among countries with the highest number of these surveillance devices currently spread throughout their borders.

In terms of per capita measures, it ranked third, just next to the United States and China.

China has 200 million cameras installed or 14.36 units per a hundred residents.

In terms of the total number of units, it outpaced the United States which has 50 million cameras in total.

On the other hand, the latter came first on the per capita measure after clocking 15.28 in a hundred people.

Other countries that made the cut include Germany with 5.2 million, Japan with a little less than 5 million, Vietnam with 2.6 million, France at 1.65 million, and South Korea capped the list with 1.02 million CCTV devices.

Statistics of the Importance of CCTV Cameras

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Despite that CCTV cameras have been around since the invention of the first atomic bomb, having surveilled this poignant moment in history, it is only in recent years that public surveillance became a widely-accepted phenomenon.

Studies show crime rates and frequency decreased by 13% in locations where CCTV cameras are present.

This comes as perpetrators, often aware of being monitored in a place where a camera is present, refrain from conducting misdeeds due to fear of being identified instantly. 

To be specific, drug-related crimes decreased by about 20% while vehicle and property crimes followed with a 14% downtrend.

There has been a 37% decrease in crimes happening in car parks while 12% in residential areas.

In a local context, London’s effort to make a huge investment in this department paid off during the 7 July attacks known as the 7/7 attacks and the Boston Marathon incident, helping local authorities track down suspects faster and accurately.

Other Types of CCTV Cameras Spread in London

What we talked about in the foregoing only account for London’s public CCTV system which does not yet include input from the private and other sectors.

There are over a million businesses operating in London alone and a survey shows that they outnumber public cameras by 70 to one!

Considering that there are close to a million of these spread throughout the city’s streets, it means there might be 70 million of the same surveillance devices installed by private businesses.

That is sure a lot of CCTVs to have!

This still does not account for home CCTVs and non-installed doorbells and wireless cameras which also have a huge number of patrons.

Conclusion

There you have the answer to today’s question! 942,00 devices—that is how many CCTV cameras in London are there.

In the last 10 years, the rate of range per individual town in the capital city has increased by 1,000% at most.

The UK government has invested heavily in public CCTV installations since the 1990s, in pursuit of crime mitigation and better observance of community peace and order.

Before traveling to London, make sure to orient yourself to the city’s rules and regulations.

Being a highly surveilled location, any form of misconduct, whether big or small, will surely pay a price.

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