Last one out of the country to put the security lock on and turn off the cctv!

Adrian, Chorley, England

It is how they pick their targets isn't it. At the moment the law gets at the easy targets the law abiding citizen while cossetting violent foreign criminals. Most people agree that where there is a risk people should be held. Chap on the run now is a suidal jihadi who was home on bail.

Bernard, Taunton, UK

K. Hall in Helsinki: if I wanted to in Finland, I would move to Finland. Frankly, I can't think of anything worse. A friend of mine lives there and reports that there is nothing whatsoever of interest in the whole country. Britain has been a bastion of freedom for hundreds years. Finland has not.

Chas, London, UK

Here in Helsinki, we have many fenced areas which are small parks for dogs. The owners take their dogs there as part of their walking duties. The result is a 99% dog-poo free city. London should try it. We also have identity cards too, so most crime is at a level the UK couldn't even dream of.

K. Hall, Helsinki, Finland

By the time the stupid voters in this country realise who is really running this world, they will be have been chipped,evaluated, and on their way to their local concentration camp.

Clive Burghard, LANCING, ENGLAND

Yes, we British have the government we deserve. That's why I now live in Thailand.

Rokola, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Excellent article that touches on key issue I believe politicians should be focussing on - the feeling of impotence that consumers often feel when faced with a bureacratic wall. When life should be improving for us all, this is an area that needs adressing. Big points for whomever picks up on this

Neil Anderson, London,

Miles is spot on about Davies.it is vital for freedom lovers that he stands on a broad libertarian platform . Apart from anything else, as the most junior of brand mangers will tell you there is no stronger emotive marketing word than free(dom). One that a legislation mad New Labour can never claim.

R G James, Brasschaat, Belgium

David in Oxford - I think you mistyped your comment slightly.
"Give a small man power and he will show you how small he really is. " really ought to be "Give a small man power and he will use those powers to prevent you ever getting to know how small he really is. "

tim Rowledge, qualicum Beach, canada

Worried about civil liberties? Wait for the ID cards, replete with bristling new techno-wizardry. A built-in RFID tag will be able to locate your card anywhere within range of a detector. Be sure that in cities, there will be detectors on every street corner.

Dwight Vandryver, Scholar Green, Cheshire, UK

Worried about CCTV? Wear a different false beard each day.

albert hall, hove, england

" It is only people with something to hide that should have a problem with a system that intends to catch offenders.

Lloyd, Glasgow, Scotland"

would it be OK for us to set up CCTV cameras in your house then??? everybody has something to hide... nobody is completely innocent

pcooke, Gloucester,

If extra survelliance catches people breaking the law then thats great i say! I have nothing to hide so im not at all bothered about being watched if that benefits society. It is only people with something to hide that should have a problem with a system that intends to catch offenders.

Lloyd, Glasgow, Scotland

What is going to happen to the UK?. The last ten years have seen everyone (except me) mesmerised by Labour in almost an evangelical manner. Are the Tories going to revert all that's happened? probably not. Labour will just get madder and badder - I really do fear for the future of the country.

Joe, Bristol, UK

Alice Miles' expressed wish to have owners faces smeared with dog faeces or being forced to eat it may have been tongue in cheek but is disgusting and unworthy of her. That said, her central message of the necessity of restraining the gauleiters is one we ignore at our peril. Fascism is gradual.

Martin Paling, Guildford, UK

During New Labour's time in office the relationship between the public sector and the law abiding citizen has changed from a basically respectful one to a basically oppressive one. This change is one of the most significant and disgraceful things ever done by a British government.

Oliver Chettle, Bedford,

Somebody is putting up posters in west London with the message "HMP Open Prison UK". Paranoia, yes, but also recognition that something is changing. Where will it end? No doubt someone will trace back this posting and make a mark on my file.....

michael clarke, london, uk

It’s unfair to say we’re living in a police state; the police are nowhere to be seen. People would be far more tolerant of CCTV and covert surveillance methods if they felt adequately protected in other areas, like getting six points for speeding whilst my car was being repeatedly vandalised.

David Curtis, London, UK

If the times wanted to do something they would devote their front page to the head line "1984 has arrived" and do a special issue on all the ways are live's are no poorer for it.

But it would apear are only hope these days is david davies and he too will be gone soon, I dispare...

Mr W Jones, Liverpool, England

So libertarians are aggressive and vocal. Unlike those mild mannered taciturn Left wingers who would never of course resort to abuse or personal attacks. Look at any political discussion on the Internet – the most abusive and aggressive posts all ways come from the Left

Alan Trent, London, UK

The problem with the advance of technology is that it saves labour at one point, so some people think more should be done i.e. politicians. But as things get easier, so we do less and get lazier - see obesity rising. This feeds into less effort ensuring that bureaucracy is less effective. not good

John, Knutsford, UK

"big brother" has become necessary because society has become shameless.

Peer pressure is ignored because people think "if I don't know you, you don't exist".

The state's purpose is to achieve what we want, but are unable to achieve by ourselves.

Richard Boyce, Haywards Heath, UK

Commentators keep stating that the public support 42 days detention without charge. I've not seen any poll which supports this, other than the one where both the PM and Home Secretary support it (100%). RIPA was for more important things than littering, but has been subverted.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

You naively assume this has to do with security. It has to do with business. Stealing of business assets. Intellectual assets. By public sector bodies. Think what they could do with it.

They could sell it to you lot, couldn't they?

Rhys Jaggar, Leeds, UK

I wouldn't mind so much if there was a perception that real criminals were being caught. They aren't. It's Mr and Mrs Middle England bearing the brunt for such callous crimes as dropping crisps, stopping in boxed junctions and overfilling their wheelie bins.

Soft targets...

Paul, London,

Most people don't seem to mind CCTV cameras because, they have "nothing to hide".
But they'd object strongly if, instead of CCTV cameras, they were followed around the street by officials carrying video cameras filming their every move?
But what's the difference?

Robert Gilmour, Darlington, UK

The State is not winning, that is for sure. This simply translates into inefficient policing, more crime, more inconsiderate citizens &, generally, people taking liberties.

Ian Cheese, london, uk

Alice,
Zero Tolerance sounds all very well in principle, but in practice it can result in some astonishing actions, as witnessed in the US where it appears to be practiced widely, where a child was counselled and expelled for carrying a painting of a gun!

Carol Asacret, Cambridge, England

"Even though I think it right to fine people who refuse to recycle their rubbish."

Why? I already pay to have the rubbish taken away. The benefits are miniscule: the DTI cost-benefit analysis for recycling was only made to work by assuming my time is worth nothing, not even minimum wage.

Kay Tie, York, UK

I would have more time for the rebellious wanting more freedom if they also wanted less welfare. The whiners don't want freedom; They want licence.

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

I wonder who is to blame for this creeping state intrusion - because it is not the politicians' fault. You get the government you deserve.

Tim, Kingston,

Most people are happy with surveillance as long as it is other people being watched. They are all in favour of zero tolerance policing, as long as it is other peoples' crimes being targetted. The motorist is offended by the enforcement of motoring laws, the dog owner by dog-fouling rules.

Andrew Dale, London,

Alice that is the whole point of why people complain and why the 42 days is dangerous. These powers WILL be (ab)used outside of where they were intended to cover - terrorism. This has already happened with RIPA and will happen with 42 days it's just a question of how soon.

John, Reading, uk

I had fun yesterday, riding my motorcycle (registered to a misspelling of my name) at well over twice the marked speed limit, because I could - I felt what freedom feels like!

These paper pushers get away with what they do is because we let them - start fighting back - :))

Mr Mohammed Smith, England,

MP's have a far bigger salay than most of the workers in this country. Why on earth should the tax payer be paying their bills? I would love to have someone paying my bills but although I am a pensioner I can't get a cut on any of my bills. Why is that? Because I have some money in the bank.

H Myrie, London, United Kingdom

Can we have spy cameras then, Alice, to spy on MPs fiddling their expenses?

JeremyPoynton, Frome, Somerset

Where would you think , are the best Taxi drivers ?
Easy....

"In Berlin....they are ex Stasi.
In London....they are ex Councillors.

just give them your name ...

They take you straight home ! "

Axel-Ivan Lagerborg, London, UK

I think it's far simpler than that. People are embracing the "Oprah" syndrome - "we're all victims but I'm a bigger victim than you which makes me a better person."

That explains why they relish the bureaucratic burden of getting off a speeding fine on a technicality, instead of obeying the law.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

An overpass is being built over the I-17 north of Phoenix AZ. A billboard at roadside gives details of the work and the name and phone number of "the official personally responsible". A person you can actually call up and talk to about the project and your concerns. Excellent - UK please follow.

David Thomas, Burnham, UK

Alice,
re the 42 days, most people I've spoken to agree that no-one should be held for any length of time with no charge being preferred. Would you be happy were it you? I wouldn't, if it was me, and that surely is the acid test.

Carol Asacret, Cambridge, England

The unfairness of this kind of surveillance is that it doesn't catch all offenders. There can be nothing more aggravating than being prosecuted for something when you know perfectly well that worse offenders are getting away with it all the time.

Patricia Thornton, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

So we have policemen sitting in offices completing forms and council employees out on the streets catching petty criminals.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

Barry, London, UK

You may have learnt to live with CCTV and other cameras, I certainly haven't and nor will I ever. I hate the damn things. When man invented them, the devil was at his elbow.

Adrian Smith, Wantage,

Like children, some adults will push against authority. This snooping society breeds and ferments a resentment which can result in people not taking pride in their street / park or ultimately their own actions. What we all need is a positive sense of our role & involvment in society, not 1984-esque

Dale, Australia,

It has all got out of hand and given credence to the jobs worth
Where this is most damaging is when the police are given arrest targets and instead of pursuing criminals stack up the amont of petty crimes such as minor traffic offences whilst the drug dealer or theif swans by unchallenged justice?

Dave Farmer, Broxbourne, England

It's a big reason I don't live in England any more.

Richard H - Cheltenham, SF Cal, USA

When I read 1984 decades ago, I consoled myself with the thought that having a TV that watched you was clearly preposterous. How long will it be before the webcam comes built-in? It may have already arrived.

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, U.K.

I agree Alice. Perhaps the Times could do a weekly article on "Orwellian of the week" featuring a few incidents of breaches of Civil Liberties. I should imagine there are quite a few.

You could even invite the public for entries and give a token prize (a copy of 1984) for the winning entry.

John Goode, Welwyn Garden City, UK

God! when is Madam going to see the bigger picture?

stuart, London , UK

God! When is Madam going to see the bigger picture?

stuart, London , UK

For some of us there never was a confusion of ideas. We knew instinctively that such powers would be abused simply because we knew the kind of people who would get to use them. Give a small man power and he will show you how small he really is.

Glad that you have got there too.

David, Oxford,