The increased use of CCTV is controversial because many are concerned that it is an invasion of people's civil liberties and privacy. People have not generally consented to be watched and recorded and have no control over the future use of the footage.

There are also practical issues with CCTV as a crime prevention/detection method. The cost of the systems means that cameras are often not recording and some councils choose not to use them widely to save money. Furthermore the footage – particularly at night when many crimes in public spaces take place – is often of poor quality, not necessarily facilitating positive identification.