Use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras by a police force to enforce a town’s ‘ring of steel’ must be reviewed, the data protection watchdog has ordered.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued an enforcement notice after the ICO’s investigation into what the watchdog termed Hertfordshire Police’s extensive use of ANPR cameras around the town of Royston. The use of some seven cameras has according to the watchdog effectively made it impossible for anyone to drive their car in or out of Royston without a record being kept of the journey. The scheme is regularly referred to as ‘the ring of steel’.
After a joint complaint about the scheme from the privacy groups Big Brother Watch, Privacy International and No CCTV, the ICO looked at see whether the use of the cameras was justifiable and complied with the Data Protection Act (DPA). The ICO found that the police failed to carry out any effective impact assessments before introducing the system. As a result it has not been able to give a satisfactory explanation to justify their use.
The ICO has now ruled that the collection of the information is unlawful – breaching principle one of the DPA; and excessive – breaching principle three. Hertfordshire has been issued with an enforcement notice ordering the force to stop processing people’s information in this way, unless they can justify the ANPR cameras use by way of a proper privacy impact assessment, or similar such assessment. The notice also makes much of article eight of the European Convention on human rights – the right to private life. The force has a right of appeal.
ICO Head of Enforcement, Stephen Eckersley, said: “It is difficult to see why a small rural town such as Royston, requires cameras monitoring all traffic in and out of the town 24 hours a day. The use of ANPR cameras and other forms of surveillance must be proportionate to the problem it is trying to address. After detailed enquiries, including consideration of the information Hertfordshire Constabulary provided, we found that this simply wasn’t the case in Royston.
“We hope that this enforcement notice sends a clear message to all police forces, that the use of ANPR cameras needs to be fully justified before they are installed. This includes carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the impact on the privacy of the road using public.”
The ICO points to its (2008 revised edition) of its CCTV Code of Practice that covers how CCTV and other forms of electronic surveillance, including ANPR cameras, can be used in compliance with the Data Protection Act.
For the notice in full visit – the ICO website.
