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New high-definition cameras are being rolled out across UK cities without public consultation into the intrusion they pose.
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The increasing sophistication of surveillance technology is becoming so serious that Britain may be in breach of its own human rights laws.
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There are already thought to be around 1.85 million CCTV cameras in the UK.
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There will be a justifiable public outcry if facial recognition systems and HD cameras are allowed to proliferate on high streets, public transport and at entertainment venues.
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The technology has overtaken our ability to regulate it.
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If we don't regulate it properly – ie, the technological ability to use millions of images we capture – there will be a huge public backlash.
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It is the Big Brother scenario playing out large.
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It's the ability to pick out your face in a crowd from a camera which is probably half a mile away.
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Mr Rennison was named as the country's first Surveillance Commissioner by the Home Office last month, having held the role on an interim basis since 2009.
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The former police officer said that disproportionate and invasive monitoring was of great concern as HD cameras are "popping up all over the place".
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The rapid advancement of digital technology means that 16-megapixel HD cameras are now very affordable, so people are buying a camera with a huge optical and digital zoom power.
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A tiny camera in a dome with a 360-degree view can capture your face in the crowd, and there are now the algorithms that run in the background.
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I've seen the test reviews that show there's a high success rate of picking out your face against a database of known faces.
Research into automatic facial recognition being carried out by the Home Office has reached a 90 per cent success rate, and it was "improving by the day".
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Cameras are storing all the images they record … and the capability is there to run your image against a database of wanted people.
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The anti-surveillance campaign group Big Brother Watch recently found that at least 51,600 CCTV cameras are being used by 428 local authorities.
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And that 100,000 are in use in schools, with as many as 200 using them inside toilets and changing rooms.
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More than a million cameras have also been installed on private land.
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Mr Rennison – who is overseeing the introduction of the first official code of conduct for CCTV use and will report back to Parliament in April – added that the explosion of powerful surveillance technology could be in breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which seeks to protect "private and family life".
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I'd like the lawyers to help work our way through that and decide whether we remain Article 8 compliant in this country.
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I don't want the state to carry on and start pushing the boundaries.
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Let's have a debate – if the public support it, then fine.
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If the public don't support it, and we need to increase the regulation, then that's what we need to do.
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Mr Rennison said most people have no idea how advanced the technology has become and of its power to intrude in their lives.
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While automatic number-plate recognition systems are now used by every police force in the country remotely to track suspect vehicles' movements.
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Systems to identify people reminiscent of science fiction films are also becoming available.
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The biometric technology … has to be regulated to forensic standards – facial recognition, facial comparison, gait analysis – because that is a whole new area in forensic science.
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A report by Big Brother Watch this year found that there were at least 51,600 CCTV cameras controlled by more than 400 local authorities, costing hundreds of millions of pounds.
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It said Birmingham spent the most – £14m – on cameras with Westminster just behind with nearly £12m.
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It also found that five authorities had a total of more than 1,000 CCTV cameras
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Paul Peachey
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