Approximately 21 million CCTV surveillance cameras operate in the UK, according to a 2021 report by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).
But which UK cities and counties are under more surveillance than others? Which areas enhance those cameras with new technologies like facial recognition, and to what extent?
To find out, we submitted freedom of information requests to each of the 380 UK councils and 45 police forces.
We asked each UK council how many cameras were in operation, including how many were used for housing, community safety, and traffic, and how many can recognize faces (FRT) or read number plates (ANPR).
For our requests to UK police forces, we asked for a total number of cameras in operation and a breakdown by body cameras, cameras installed in police stations, ANPR cameras, in-car cameras, and FRT cameras.
We found a disparity in the level of surveillance depending on where you live in the UK. Furthermore, some councils and police forces are rolling out FRT cameras (which can be operated by AI), so some individuals might be unwittingly tracked without their knowledge or consent.
Key findings:
- Scottish councils have the highest ratio of cameras per 1,000 people (3.6)
- North Ayrshire Council has the highest ratio of cameras per 1,000 people (13.8)
- Hackney has the highest number of cameras (3,281)
- North Ayrshire, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Shetland Islands, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth City, and Clackmannanshire councils would sit within the top 20 most surveilled cities in the world (when excluding estimates for China)
- Preston City Council has the highest number of FRT cameras (120)
- City of London Police has the highest ratio of cameras per 1,000 people (48.9)
- The Metropolitan Police has the highest number of cameras (31,077)
- We found little correlation between the number of public CCTV cameras and crime or safety
The 10 most surveilled council areas in the UK
Based on the number of cameras per 1,000 people, these council areas (not including police force cameras) are the top 10 most surveilled in the UK:
- North Ayrshire Council – 1,849 cameras for 134,010 people = 13.8 cameras per 1,000 people
- London Borough of Hackney – 3,281 cameras for 247,909 people = 13.2 cameras per 1,000 people
- Hammersmith and Fulham – 2,177 cameras for 171,219 people = 12.7 cameras per 1,000 people
- Shetland Islands Council – 271 cameras for 23,000 people = 11.8 cameras per 1,000 people
- Middlesbrough Borough Council – 1,501 cameras for 127,512 people = 11.8 cameras per 1,000 people
- Portsmouth City Council – 2,413 cameras for 209,093 people =11.5 cameras per 1,000 people
- Clackmannanshire Council – 575 cameras for 52,110 people = 11.0 cameras per 1,000 people
- Hillingdon Borough Council – 2,808 cameras for 269,755 people = 10.4 cameras per 1,000 people
- Orkney Islands Council – 226 cameras for 22,020 people = 10.3 cameras per 1,000 people
- Stevenage Borough Council – 764 cameras for 76,847 people = 9.9 cameras per 1,000 people
If we compare to our study of the most surveilled cities in the world and exclude China, North Ayrshire Council would be the 11th most surveilled location in the world, sitting above London (as a whole), Los Angeles, and New York City. Hackney would sit in 13th place, and Hammersmith and Fulham would sit in 15th place, just above Los Angeles.
Scotland is the most surveilled country in the UK
The density of CCTV cameras varies depending on where you are in the UK. Based on the figures provided by each council and the total population in each of these areas, Scotland has the highest overall average by far with 3.6 cameras per 1,000 people. This is nearly double the average in England (1.9), and significantly higher than the average in Wales (2.4) and Northern Ireland (2.5).
Which English councils have the most CCTV cameras per 1,000 people?
In England, five of the top 10 councils with the most CCTV cameras per 1,000 people were in London. Hackney had the most cameras across all English councils with 3,281 in total, which equates to 13.2 cameras per 1,000 people. 1,998 of these cameras are used to monitor social housing.
Most of Portsmouth City Council’s cameras were also used for social housing (2,239), while Hillingdon Borough Council had the most cameras installed for community safety (1,586). Islington had the highest number of traffic cameras (247), and all of these have ANPR capabilities.
At the other end of the scale, four councils said they had no public CCTV in operation (South Norfolk District Council, Broadland District Council, Pendle Borough Council, and East Hampshire District Council).
Which Scottish councils have the most CCTV cameras per 1,000 people?
In Scotland, three of the top 10 councils with the most cameras per 1,000 people were island communities: the Shetlands (271 cameras overall, equating to 11.8 cameras per 1,000 people), Orkney (226 cameras overall – 10.3 cameras per 1,000 people), and Argyll and Bute (577 cameras overall – 6.6 cameras per 1,000 people).
South Lanarkshire Council had the highest number of cameras out of the top 10 (and out of all Scottish councils) with 2,076 in total, but North Ayrshire Council had the highest ratio of cameras to its population (13.8 per 1,000).
East Dunbartonshire Council had the lowest ratio of CCTV cameras with just 50 in total (0.5 per 1,000 people).
Which Welsh councils have the most CCTV cameras per 1,000 people?
In Wales, Gwynedd council had the largest number of cameras per 1,000 people, with a total of 1,069 cameras covering a population of 117,400 (9.1 per 1,000 people). The majority of these (662) are used for community safety.
Where a breakdown of figures was provided by the council, Swansea City and County Council had the highest number assigned to social housing (702 in total), and Cardiff Council had the most traffic cameras (225).
Pembrokeshire County Council had the fewest number of cameras (55), with 0.4 cameras per 1,000 people.
Which Northern Irish councils have the most CCTV cameras per 1,000 people?
In Northern Ireland, Mid Ulster District Council had the highest ratio of cameras with 4.7 per 1,000, using 686 cameras in total. But Belfast City Council had the highest number of cameras installed (1,032 in total, equating to 3 per 1,000 people).
From the councils that provided a breakdown of camera figures, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council noted the highest number for public safety (522) and traffic (42).
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council had the lowest ratio (0.1 per 1,000 people).
Which UK councils are using facial recognition?
Five UK councils (all of which are in England) confirmed they use facial recognition cameras.
Preston City Council has 120 cameras with FRT capabilities. These make up 34 percent of the council’s total cameras (350). Verkada, a US-based security technology company, provided the cameras to Preston.
The council says the devices are all managed through a centralised platform that allows staff to view and share footage. It says it protects privacy and adheres to GDPR requirements by using Live Face Blur, which automatically applies a filter to detected faces. Live Face Blur can be toggled off “when required for an incident”.
In 2021, live feeds from over 150,000 Verkada cameras – some of which were in women’s health clinics and psychiatric hospitals – were accessed by cyber attackers in the US. Verkada employees had previously described a “Super Admin” account that was able to view any camera feed.
North Tyneside Council also uses a relatively large number of facial recognition cameras. It is rolling out a total of 200 cameras, 98 of which are already operating in “town centres and busy public spaces”. These include face blurring technology and built-in “privacy zones”, which block out views of private homes and any areas where people reasonably expect privacy. The council says that the cameras will enable partners, such as the police, to locate relevant footage based on a “description of a suspect or vehicle”.
Which UK councils use the most ANPR cameras?
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are designed to read and record the registration numbers of all passing vehicles and cross-reference them against database records of “vehicles of interest”. On average, ANPR cameras submit approximately 60 million ANPR “read” records to national databases each day. These records are stored for 12 months before being deleted.
Privacy advocates criticise the use of ANPR cameras by councils and police as a privacy-encroaching practice, as every vehicle, whether under scrutiny or not, is traced by these systems. While this can help combat illegal parking and improve safety (e.g. identifying cars without insurance), the use of ANPR with AI presents a risk of “mission creep”.
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, told Liberty Investigates, “The UK’s ANPR network is already one of the biggest surveillance networks on the planet, tracking millions of innocent people’s journeys every single day.” He also warned, “Monitoring and analysing this many journeys will impact everybody’s privacy and has the potential to allow police to analyse how we all move around the country at the click of a button.”
Hufurt highlighted how “mission creep” has already started to appear within the UK’s use of ANPR. Initially, it was brought in as a counter-terror measure; now, it’s being used as an enforcement tool for driving laws.
Bradford City Council used the most ANPR cameras overall (650 in total, equating to 1.4 ANPR cameras per 1,000 people). The London boroughs of Islington (247), Hammersmith and Fulham (229), Newham (202), Ealing (192), and Lambeth (190) also had high numbers of operational ANPR cameras.
Burnley Borough Council had the most ANPR cameras proportionally: 1.8 ANPR cameras per 1,000 people.
Which UK police forces use the highest number of CCTV cameras?
Around 130,000 CCTV cameras are used across the 35 police forces that responded to our Freedom of Information requests (out of a total of 45, with two of the 35 respondents only providing body camera figures). 24 percent of these are operated by a single force: the Metropolitan Police Service. However, the ratio of cameras per 1,000 people served by the Met Police was 3.4, putting it in seventh place.
The 10 most surveilled police force areas in the UK
Based on the latest population figures served by each UK police force, the following areas have the highest rate of cameras per 1,000 people:
- City of London Police – 738 cameras for 15,100 people = 48.9 cameras per 1,000 people
- Kent Police – 8,762 cameras for 1,931,700 people = 4.5 cameras per 1,000 people
- Gwent Police – 2,431 cameras for 601,700 people = 4.0 cameras per 1,000 people
- South Wales Police – 5,002 cameras for 1,363,600 people = 3.7 cameras per 1,000 people
- Dyfed-Powys Police – 1,906 cameras for 524,200 people = 3.6 cameras per 1,000 people
- South Yorkshire Police – 5,068 cameras for 1,430,600 people = 3.5 cameras per 1,000 people
- Metropolitan Police Service – 31,077 cameras for 9,074,600 people = 3.4 cameras per 1,000 people
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary – 5,745 cameras for 1,813,700 people = 3.2 cameras per 1,000 people*
- North Wales Police – 2,089 cameras for 697,100 people = 3 cameras per 1,000 people
- Bedfordshire Police – 2,199 cameras for 749,900 people = 2.9 cameras per 1,000 people
*This figure for Avon and Somerset Constabulary doesn’t include any additional CCTV cameras operated. The figure includes body cameras, ANPR, police station, and in-car cameras only.
A large proportion (85%) of the Met Police’s cameras were body-worn cameras (26,500). Where figures were provided, Kent Police had the second-highest number of body-worn cameras (7,349 cameras in total, making up 84% of its 8,762 cameras).
West Midlands Police (6,300 body-worn cameras) and Police Scotland (6,176 body-worn cameras) also had high figures in this area.
The Met Police had the highest known number of cameras in its police stations (4,000 in total), followed by Police Scotland (2,110) and South Wales Police (1,122), but this isn’t surprising due to the sizeable areas covered by these forces.
Which UK police forces are using the highest number of ANPR cameras?
24 police forces provided us with figures for ANPR cameras (including those used in patrol cars). Sussex police had the highest number of ANPR cameras (599), followed by the Met Police (450) and Surrey Police (374).
The City of London had the highest rate of ANPR cameras per 1,000 people (2.4), followed by Dyfed-Powys Police (0.5).
Which UK police forces are using the highest number of facial recognition cameras?
Seven police forces confirmed they’re using facial recognition cameras. All but one had just two to four FRT cameras in operation. The Met Police has 15.
The Met told us it is using its cameras as part of a trial project in Croydon. In a press release, the Met said the cameras are used to help identify suspects on police watchlists and are only activated when officers are present. They have successfully identified wanted criminals, but the cameras also falsely identified a youth worker as a criminal suspect.
Although the Met says there are “currently no plans to extend the pilot to other areas”, The Guardian reported on a planned pilot scheme that will allow 100 police officers to scan citizens’ faces using mobile phone-based automated facial recognition technology.
West Yorkshire Police says it has repeatedly used Live Facial Recognition (LFR) in crime hotspots in Leeds and Bradford via mobile vans equipped with NEC’s NeoFace facial recognition software.
Essex Police told us it uses two facial recognition cameras. Its website lists past and future deployments. The use of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras had previously been paused after a study identified “a potential bias in the positive identification rate” of black people over white people on its watchlist.
The use of FRT amongst police forces remains widely contested. Privacy advocates warn it enables mass surveillance and undermines the presumption of innocence. Privacy campaigners recently lost out in a High Court challenge against the Met Police, with the court ruling that the Met hadn’t broken human rights and privacy laws by scanning faces in public. One of the defendants was misidentified by FRT in February 2024 and was stopped, arrested, and detained by police before they confirmed the system had incorrectly identified him as his brother, who was on bail at the time.
CCTV, crime, and safety
The use of CCTV within public spaces and by police forces is frequently touted as a way to help increase citizens’ safety and reduce crime. To see whether higher CCTV cameras indicate a lower crime rate, we looked at the number of cameras (per 1,000 people) by council and compared this to its crime rate (per 1,000 people).
As you can see from the above chart, a higher number of cameras just barely correlates with a lower crime index.
This is even more evident when looking at police forces:
Broadly speaking, more cameras don’t necessarily reduce crime rates.
Methodology
We submitted Freedom of Information requests to 380 UK councils, of which 356 responded. Each was asked to provide the total number of CCTV cameras currently in operation, along with a breakdown by use (housing, community safety, and traffic), and figures for facial recognition and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
We contacted all 45 UK police forces, receiving responses from 34. Forces were asked for their total number of CCTV cameras, including a breakdown by type (body-worn, in-station, and in-car), as well as figures for facial recognition and ANPR cameras.
In some cases, councils and police forces were unable to provide complete data for all categories. As a result, some totals presented in this report are likely underestimated.
Where cameras were shared between organisations, totals were apportioned based on relative size. For example, Surrey and Sussex Police jointly operate 1,900 body-worn cameras. Based on officer numbers (2,105 for Surrey and 3,217 for Sussex), this equates to approximately 751 cameras for Surrey and 1,149 for Sussex.
Data researcher: Justin Schamotta