People to be paid to fight crime on the interweb

A new internet site allows would-be super snoopers to plug into CCTV online and report the crimes they come across. The network of citizen crime watchers who sign up to the site will have four random CCTV streams sent to them live - and are given the chance to win £1,000 for their efforts.

The cameras' owners will pay a fee to have their footage played out and observers will get points for reporting any misdemeanours. People behind the new scheme - called Internet Eyes - say the £1,000 is there to be won by those with the keenest eyes.

Former restauranter Tony Morgan, who came up with the idea, said the concept came from a want to prevent crime as effectively as possible. He said: "This is all about crime prevention and it could be very very effective.



"At the moment people look at CCTV and think someone might or might not be watching so they commit the crimes anyway. Once this gets going and we get signs saying that the CCTV is part of our scheme, it will be an extra deterrent because people will know they are probably being watched."

Not everyone, though, is entirely positive about the scheme. Michael Laurie, Crimestoppers boss, said: "While the motive may be sound, the concept of Internet Eyes seems to ask more questions than it answers, with a wide range of opportunities for abuse and error.

"Fighting crime should not really be a game and this is essentially no more than a commercial venture, exploiting some people’s baser characteristics." There are around 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain - around one for every 14 people.