CCTV - Good or Bad?

I was interested in this article from the BBC Cambridgeshire site, which highlights some of the issues surrounding the use of CCTV. My personal feeling is that, overall, it is a good thing but we are in danger of letting it go too far. There are a number of instances where CCTV has proven vital in solving difficult situations, the one highlighted in this article is an example and I can think of another one which featured on National television from an incident close to where I live a few years ago where police were able to prosecute a man who committed a violent assault on his girlfriend in full view of the cameras.

What is interesting for me is that the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire describes them as vital, yet here in Cambridgeshire the only interested party that pays absolutely nothing towards the running of cameras is the Police. Here in Whittlesey, they are paid for by the local Town Council and Fenland District Council and were previously partly funded by local businesses. It is my view that CCTV cameras are substitute policemen and, as such, should be largely funded by the Police Authority. If the Police really do believe they are important, they should accept that argument too.