[linkmotif]

The answer is face recognition.

[goblins]

Current quality for the majority of CCTV is probably not good enough for facial. May be gait recognition is more feasible.

[Spearchucker]

There's an interesting article in last month's Economist. They show resolution that let's an operator recognise a face a mile up the road. That was in Islington.

[gaius]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo

[IshKebab]

Maybe a zoom lens that does.

[gaius]

I saw the CCTV footage - impossible.