THEY film us an average of 300 times a day in Portsmouth.

But the network of CCTV cameras has been hailed a success after notching up more than 15,000 arrests.
The 172 spy cameras dotted around the city have captured 105,000 crimes since they were introduced 11 years ago. And this has led to thousands of criminals being locked up.

Police today said CCTV was a vital tool in bringing criminals to justice as well as being a deterrent to commit crime.

Chief Inspector Carrie Pither, from Portsmouth police, said: 'CCTV is a critical part of the justice system. 'It is part of our daily world, but I don't think it's taken totally for granted. We are still aware of it so it acts as a deterrent. 'It is a critical part of our evidence-gathering process for criminal matters and anti-social behaviour.
'It can help identify offenders and witnesses and lets us work out where people were and confirm their location.'

Last year alone, more than 9,000 incidents were captured on film, which resulted in 1,417 arrests. A fifth of those arrests were as a direct result of CCTV operators spotting the crimes taking place.

Portsmouth City Council's CCTV manager, Ray Stead, said CCTV in the city had been used to solve crimes from assaults to murders.

'The camera system has been used to assist enforcement agencies solving murder inquiries, preventing anti-social behaviour and drug trafficking as well as monitoring traffic and health and safety issues around the city.'

However, the plethora of cameras makes some organisations uneasy.

Civil liberties group Liberty believes the balance between people's privacy and interests such as national security, crime prevention and freedom of expression are far from settled. A spokesman said: 'The extent of a right to privacy in the UK and its weight in relation to competing values is unclear.'