NORTHUMBERLAND County Council (NCC) operates almost 1,000 CCTV cameras, new figures show, as numbers rise across the country.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests by Ironmongery Direct show there were 975 cameras controlled by NCC in summer this year – the same as in 2019. 

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Despite this, data from local authorities that provided figures for both years shows the number of cameras used across the UK has increased 15 per cent over the three-year period 2019 to 2022, from 79,022 to 91,081.

Councils were asked how many CCTV cameras they had in operation as of July 2022, and how many they operated in 2019.

Of 384 local UK authorities, 311 were able to provide data for both years, and a further 31 provided figures for 2022 alone.

Corps Monitoring, a security firm, said the national rise in CCTV may be due to a fall in cost of equipment in recent years, alongside wider availability of high-speed internet.

Big Brother Watch, a campaign group against public surveillance, said the number of CCTV cameras on UK streets is "out of control", raising concerns about the potential use of facial recognition to track people.

Corps Monitoring says the wider availability of CCTV cameras is an asset to people and businesses looking to improve their security.