You might be surprised that even with the FBI, CIA, NSA and a host of other organizations, the United States does not hold the title of the most surveilled city on the planet. That title belongs to Delhi, India. The nation’s capital has ranked first in the world for the most CCTVs installed, with 1,826 cameras per square mile. The cameras are watching at a strange height between the asphalt and the street lights — high enough to not be readily noticed, but low enough to capture the people and their every movement. The CCTV project is part of the government’s larger action plan on enhancing women’s safety in the capital. In the first phase of the project, the government installed nearly 275,000 cameras across the city and is currently working to install 140,000 additional cameras. All CCTV feeds are highly secure, with hardware monitored in the community. Feeds are accessible only to authorized users, and the system itself is capable of automatic checkups to detect disturbances and intrusions. Ranking behind Delhi on the list of 150 cities with the most CCTVs is Shanghai, New York and London, in that order.
