A National CCTV Strategy was published this week by the
Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
The strategy report says that "the public feels safer due to the
presence of CCTV". It cites a claim that in London, on average, an
individual may be recorded by over 300 different cameras in any
given day. It also cites a study from 2002 suggesting that there
are around 4.2 million cameras across the UK. But the report says
that the evidence from police does not suggest such extensive
coverage and says that many cameras are located in the wrong
places. Quality was also found to be inconsistent.
"The terrorist incidents in London in July 2005 … highlighted
the effectiveness of CCTV as an aid to investigation but also
identified issues in relation to the lack of integration, quality
of images and the difficulties associated in retrieving digitally
recorded footage," says the report.
In the days when almost all CCTV footage was recorded to VHS
tape, there was compatibility in camera resolutions, their output
specifications, transmission standards and recordings. With the
emergence of digital CCTV, "the situation has taken a turn for the
worse," says the report.
Digital cameras from one manufacturer may not be compatible with
others' recording systems. The police and Criminal Justice System
struggle to play back footage from the many proprietary recording
formats, says the report.
It calls for digital CCTV standards to be agreed among police,
the Criminal Justice System and public space CCTV operators. The
location and purpose of all the CCTV cameras in public space use
should also be reviewed, to detail their purpose and establish if
they are fit for purpose, it says. It also calls for a system of
registration for CCTV systems.
While the Information Commissioner has produced a Code of
Practice for CCTV, the report notes that the Data Protection Act
does not require CCTV systems to be registered and the Commissioner
has no legal authority to enforce the Code. The Commissioner can
only issue enforcement notices where there is a breach of one or
more of the Data Protection Act's principles.
The report recommends: "The role of the Information Commissioner
needs to include greater powers to enforce licensing requirements
of systems and people and needs to be clearer".
It also says that new legislation should be considered "to
tighten regulatory deficiencies where these are shown to be a
problem." This would include powers to inspect CCTV systems.
The Home Office should also consider "whether or not there is a
need for any new legislation to tackle invasion of privacy with
regard to both public and private CCTV", describing it as "a grey
area".
A Home Office spokesman said: "The strategy recognises that for
CCTV to continue to be effective it must have both the support of
the public and take account of rapidly changing technology. It
highlights the need for improved public accountability, a
centralised database of schemes, national training standards for
users and a stronger role for the Information Commissioner."
"All the recommendations will be assessed by an expert Programme
Board and a proposed plan of action will be submitted to Ministers
for consideration.”
