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Surveillance camera report

by Mark Rowe

The reach of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) should be much expanded, says Tony Porter in his fifth Annual Report. He said he found it ironic that the Government (in England – Scotland is set to follow) will introduce video surveillance systems into abattoirs for the betterment of animal welfare but has rejected his repeated calls for the NHS to come under the SCC regulation; although local government comes under the SCC, including the smallest parish council. Also, he suggested that Transport for London, the Highways Agency, education establishments, rail franchises, and cameras that cover the critical national infrastructure, at a minimum, should also fall within the Commissioner’s remit.

Tony Porter was among the speakers at the last Security TWENTY event of 2018, at Heathrow in November, and is an invited speaker to the first ST19 event; on Thursday morning, February 21, at the Hilton Metropole Hotel NEC, Birmingham.

Police use of video surveillance platforms will become more entangled with that of private and commercial organisations, the report predicted. Clarity as to their use, intention and purpose is paramount if public trust is to be retained in the use of video surveillance camera systems by the police and others such as local government, the report said.

The former senior policeman laid down a challenge to society: ‘To what extent is it willing to sacrifice its personal freedoms for security?’ He said: “Whilst this is a perennial debate that I do not see drawing to a conclusion any time soon, I am clear that a society cowed by ubiquitous surveillance technology monitoring our every movement, cross checking reference databases to enable the state to monitor its citizens, is not an approach supported in this society.”

Given the more complex threats, besides the tech, he said that public exposure to surveillance camera systems is far different and far more challenging than when the Commissioner’s post was set up under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Public space surveillance camera systems pervades many aspects of our lives, he said. “Their presence and use continues to proliferate by agents of the state, the private sector and indeed by citizens themselves. Surveillance technologies continue to evolve at a pace that challenges established laws to keep
pace. Meanwhile their inherent abilities to intrude upon a very broad spectrum of our fundamental rights and freedoms become far more detailed and sophisticated. Surveillance is much more than privacy and data.”

On police looking to technology to support their law enforcement efforts, typically by automatic facial recognition (AFR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and body worn video cameras (BWVs), he said: “The balance between privacy and security when using new technology will continue to challenge law enforcement in its use, and lawmakers and regulators need to be robust and co-ordinated in supporting those efforts and challenging them when their use is deemed excessive.”

Tony Porter praised the ‘generous commitment and expertise’ by industry figures advising on the National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales, largely unpaid and volunteers. He said: “My challenge to the Government is to recognise the value and currency of ensuring that public space video surveillance is properly and effectively managed and to resource this work, which is largely being delivered for nothing.”

To read the full 52-page report visit the SCC website. The document covers police, local government, voluntary adopters of the SCC Code of Practice, standards, civil engagement; manufacturers, installers and designers, the branches of the security industry; training and regulation. In the chapter on horizon scanning, the report made the point that CCTV is in itself a misnomer. “It is no longer a stand‑alone closed‑circuit system and has not been for some time. The understanding needs to widen considerably to reflect this change. In the near future, we will have mass streaming of video data from static, drone, body worn video cameras and mobile phone sources to online cloud storage.” Driver-less cars with 360 degree vision could be one of the big drivers for surveillance cameras, according to the report, which saw implications for personal data, privacy, and policy for investigations (how might the authorities access that data, and where from?). Also on the horizon: Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags (and other similar devices) linked to video surveillance; augmented reality (with potential for automatic facial recognition). All that said, the report pointed to the need to get the basics right, such as in the specification, design, installation and operation – HD images poorly installed being no more use than analogue, as the report noted: “Advanced technologies are also only effective if specified and installed correctly.”

The report also reviews the SCC work of the year, such as the launch of an ‘online toolbox‘.

Tony Porter said: “Yet again it’s been an incredibly busy and challenging year. I’ve continued to see lots of great examples of good practice from relevant authorities and those who fall outside the scope of this definition. Equally there is room for improvement and I am working the strand leads on the National Surveillance Camera Strategy to raise standards.”

Picture by Mark Rowe; on street CCTV, Hackney, north London.

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