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

"It is a distasteful and worrying development of surveillance society and where it is going. CCTV has been proved to be ineffective and they are trying to capitalize on this which is sick," he added.

Farrier has also called the £1000 prize "a cheap gimmick" to attract people into signing up.

Agrees Michael Laurie, chief of Crimestoppers. "While the motive may be sound, the concept of Internet Eyes seems to ask more questions than it answers, with a wide range of opportunities for abuse and error," Laurie said.

"Fighting crime should not really be a game and this is essentially no more than a commercial venture, exploiting some people's baser characteristics," he added.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) was unavailable for comments.

Britain is one of the world's most monitored societies, with one camera per fourteen people. However, in August, an internal report by the Metropolitan Police disclosed that just one crime was being solved for every thousand of London's estimated one million surveillance cameras.