Big Brother Britain...is the US far behind?

Having data is a very useful tool. Even if you're going to review .001% of it.
Of course, it depends on a few things:
How expensive is it to collect and keep?
How useful will it be once it's needed?
How important will it be once it is retrieved?

We collect amazing amounts of data here at my work. The vast majority of it is never looked at because nothing's going on. It's those rare occasions when something does go wrong that it suddenly becomes invaluable.

In England's case, maybe catching a murder on tape....etc.
How much are they willing to spend to help catch one criminal? Now multiply that times how many criminals you intend on catching... there's the amount you should spend and keep.

Of course, I'm completely ignoring the blatant violation of personal privacy.