Police in London have been granted exemption from the Data
Protection Act to track the city's motorists. The Home Office has
granted The Metropolitan Police full, real time access to
surveillance footage from London's congestion system cameras.
In order to operate the congestion charge which operates in
central London there is a ring of cameras in the city centre fitted
with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology.
Police were previously able to request specific footage from
those cameras for reasons of national security. The Home Office has
just said that police can monitor that footage and vehicle movement
in real time without their activities being subject to the Data
Protection Act (DPA).
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has signed a certificate of
exemption from the DPA that allows congestion system operator
Transport for London (TfL) to pass data on to the police as long as
it is for the protection of national security. The Act contains
provisions for exemptions for the safeguarding of national
security.
The exemption certificate states: "This Certificate relates to
the processing of the images taken by the cameras, and personal
data derived from the images, including vehicle registration mark,
date, time, place and camera location."
The exemption, said the certificate, applies to "the processing
of the camera data by police officers and support staff assigned to
National Security Units in connection with the performance of the
statutory and common law functions of police officers assigned to
National Security Units insofar as they relate to the safeguarding
of national security".
"The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police believes that it is
necessary due to the enduring, vehicle-borne terrorist threat to
London," said Tony McNulty, the Home Office minister responsible
for police and security.
"The Met requires bulk ANPR data from TfL's camera network in
London specifically for terrorism intelligence purposes and to
prevent and investigate such offences. The infrastructure will
allow the real-time flow of data between TfL and the Met."
A companion document to the certificate, and referred to by it,
says that the exemption must only apply to cases which threaten the
security of the UK. "The camera data shall only be processed for
the purpose of processing for matters relating to safeguarding
national security, it shall not be used for general policing
purposes," said the document which sets out the reasons for
granting the exemption.
