Bangkok CCTV - Overkill or Money Well Spent?

[thinker]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the number of CCTV cameras around Bangkok is a great example of overkill? I mean seriously, I even noted CCTV trained on the stairs to foot bridges over the bigger roads. Just to put things into perspective, I was in Ho Chi Mihn City recently, at one of the biggest intersections right in the centre of town...you know how many CCTV cams I could find? Two. Some intersections in BKK have more than 20.
This massive infrastructure, the bill footed by the taxpayer...probably many readers, would have cost a pretty penny. Do you think it's money well spent? Absolutely necessary? Going to significantly better your quality of life? I saw some posters advertising all this as some kind of gift to the people of Bangkok (that they have to pay for of course). Well people of Bangkok, do you feel safer now that you can't move anywhere in the city without being under surveillance? Do you feel this will significantly reduce crime so that you can breathe more easily? Are you closer to real freedom and safety with big brother watching your back? Just curious...

[wangsuda]

It is overkill to the max! The money could be better spent making signal lights work and having traffic flow smoothly (and fire many of the worthless Thai traffic police, saving even more money)! I wonder who make out on this deal?

[thinker]

Yeah, I'd say I would be very interesting to know who made this deal...I bet they're driving a nice new mercedes. It would be an interesting thesis research project wouldn't it? To try and quantify the total benefits bestowed on the good people of Bangkok in terms of a significant reduction in crime by this ambitious and no doubt lucrative project.

[surinfarm]

What would you really expect from the proverbial Police State?