Doesn’t facial recognition surveillance make us safer?

The evidence so far is that CCT surveillance hasn’t reduced crime and this no doubt applies to Facial Recognition technology, although the Chinese government claims that its use of the technology in the Uighur community in North West China has enabled them to catch “terrorists”. 

Even if the technology were effective to some degree, the question remains – is it worth it given the loss of freedom and privacy that innocent citizens give up. Even with regulation and tight controls, there is already evidence that government departments use the technology in a way that abuses its citizens, some no doubt regarding it as a price worth paying.