CCTV "report crime, win prizes" game triggers row, launch doubtful

A new British company called Internet Eyes (www.interneteyes.co.uk) is signing up viewers to watch live streams of CCTV cameras from shops and businesses and report anything they believe to be suspicious.

A monthly reward of £1000 will be paid out to the person who reports the most crimes, the company said.

According to Tony Morgan, managing director, Internet Eyes, the amateur crime-fighting venture is not a game but a 'crime prevention weapon."

"This isn't a game - it's serious. This is all about crime prevention and it could be very, very effective. At the moment people look at CCTV and think someone might or might not be watching so they commit the crimes anyway. Once this gets going and we get signs saying that the CCTV is part of our scheme, it will be an extra deterrent because people will know they are probably being watched," Morgan said.

According to Morgan, there are over 4 million CCTV cameras in the UK and only "one in a thousand gets watched."

"Crimes are bound to get missed but this way the cameras will be watched by lots of people 24-hours-a-day," he said.

The company said the CCTV cameras' owners will be charged £20 per month for putting live footage from their cameras on www.interneteyes.co.uk.

At any given time, live footage from four different cameras will be shown. The locations will be kept secret and will change every 10 minutes.

If viewers see something suspicious, the website allows them to send an instant SMS message to the shopkeeper with a screen grab of what they are reporting.