SPY (OR PIE) IN THE SKY?

Spotted a CCTV camera actually moving in Brigg this morning - just after 9am, scanning the Market Place. This one, clearly, was switched on and in use.
I'm not a great fan of these spy cameras. Not so much because of infringement of human rights: Should law-abiding members of the public be 'spied on' going about their lawful business On Brigg Streets?
More to the point is how much of what goes on in full view of the cameras is actually filmed? How much of the footage is really studied by expert eyes? And how many convictions result from a system we pay for?
The powers-that-be should reveal the CCTV 'information leading to prosecution' statistics in public through the Brigg Community Policing Panel when it meets every three or four months in the Angel Suite.
Over the past couple of years I can recall CCTV footage from Brigg proving useful in the search for a missing person, but that's been about it. And I attend almost all town council and community policing panel meetings.
Town centre vandalism, like smashing windows, you'd think would be a surefire thing for CCTV to pick up. Especially as the offenders are hardly likely to be going to great lengths to conceal their identities.
And what about all those drivers passing through the pedestrian area without justifiable cause? Surely a quick on-screen look at the numberplate and a check with the DVLA is not too difficult.
If we get fewer police officers patrolling the streets because the CCTV cameras are there, surely the effectiveness of the system should be subject to public scrutiny.
Let's have the facts!