A news editor got the chance to become ‘big brother’ after being invited behind the scenes at an urban CCTV camera room.

Juliet Auty, who works for the Weston and Worle News, spent the evening with two police officers monitoring the comings and goings of Weston town centre.

And once she began watching the 48 separate screens in the CCTV room, Juliet was surprised by her own lust for violence.

She said: “As much as I detest violence, I did not want to spend the next four hours watching people walking around.

“In a voyeuristic way I wanted some action.”

Sadly, no riots or shootings took place that evening – although Juliet did get to see several minor skirmishes.

She said: “At about 2am, clubbers started spilling out of the doors onto the streets of Weston-super-Mare and the fun began.”

Juliet was able to learn how CCTV cameras can help police manage their resources.

For example if two fights are reported at the same time, whoever is manning the CCTV cameras can decide which fight is potentially more dangerous.

Juliet found the experience interesting – but a little strange.

She explained: “It was strange to sit and watch people. When you are out and about you know the cameras are there but you forget about them.

In a way it felt a bit intrusive but also powerful to know you can help stop crime and help people, sometimes without them knowing it.”

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