Brits Consider Ban on Wigs, Dark Sunglasses
And you think that I’m making up that headline? Okay, I am making it up, but if the police in Yorkshire are going around asking Pub owners to have patrons remove their headgear, what’s next? You see, the coppers want everyone to remove their hats so the troublemakers in the lot can be easily recognized by all the CCTV cameras.
If they can go around and demand all people remove hats, maybe we should look at some other disguises that are employed by the criminals amongst us.
The measure, designed to prevent people from obscuring their faces from CCTV cameras, has been questioned by Barnsley’s former Test umpire Dickie Bird, 75, well-known for his favoured white flat cap.
He said: “Asking a Yorkshireman to take off his flat cap – whoever heard of anything so silly.
“It’s a Yorkshire tradition, men wearing flat caps. Although youngsters don’t bother these days, older men still wear them and should be allowed to continue.
“I still wear a flat cap when I go out shopping and often leave it on when I get home and end up sitting watching TV with my cap on They look smart and they keep your head nice and warm.”
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said bans on people wearing headgear in public premises had been operated in banks and post offices for years.
She added: “There have been incidents both in pubs and other establishments when it has not been possible to identify offenders captured on CCTV because hats were hiding their faces.”
Yeah, okay. Back to that list of disguises…
- Sunglasses
- Hooded sweatshirts
- Heavy makeup
- Facial hair (it can be cut off after the crime)
- Paper bags
- 1970s shirts with the collars turned up
- Dolly Parton wigs, and of course
- Duct tape
Reports indicate that in the UK, there is one CCTV camera for every 14 citizens. That is a lot of camera coverage for sure, but is it doing any good?
A Guardian report informs us that all of those cameras do not do much good in deterring crime; and are not helping solve many crimes either.
Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.
So what’s the solution? Well more cameras and more databases with pictures of everyone and anyone of course. Wonderful.
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