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Current documents are draft copies yet to be ratified by the party though a vote and finalised by party members. The articles on this wiki may not represent the official views of the Pirate Party of the United Kingdom.

This is one of the subsection for the Privacy Policy draft. For more information and for links to the other subsections, see the main page.

Sections:

• Main Page
  • 1 - CCTV
  • 2 - ID Cards and the National Identity Register
  • 3 - Data Collection and storage
  • 4 - Government Transparency
  • 5 - RIPA
  • 6 - Taking and publishing of pictures etc.
  • 7 - Communication traffic monitoring

Contents 1 CCTV 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Purpose of CCTV 1.3 Effectiveness of CCTV 1.4 Current Law 1.5 Other Criticisms of CCTV 1.6 Questions 1.7 Suggestions 1.8 Feedback 1.9 Notes 2 Votes 2.1 1.1 Registration 2.2 1.2 Access to registration data 2.3 1.3 Central Network

CCTV

Introduction

It has been 'guestimated' that there are approximately 4.2 million CCTV cameras in the UK^[1] and while this figure may be a vast overestimate^[2], there is no doubt that CCTV is increasingly becoming a significant presence in our society. It should be noted that the majority of cameras are privately owned and so the main focus of this section will be on them.

The study also found several examples of 'dummy' CCTV cameras, which were either not real cameras or not connected to any system. These should probably also be considered as they rely on the existence of 'real' cameras and can potentially be useful in deterring criminals and reducing the fear of crime (although this effect may be unhelpful).

Another possibly significant and related issue is that of speed cameras. For the moment, they can be considered included with the rest of this section, but if it is felt that they present an important enough issue I am happy to give them their own sub-section or section.

Purpose of CCTV

CCTV systems allegedly have a number of uses (taken from Chapter 1 of the Home Office Research Study 292; Assessing the Impact of CCTV^[3]);

• To reduce crime,
• to reduce the fear of crime,
• to deter criminals (I’m not sure how this differs from reducing crime...),
• to help catch and prosecute criminals.

The National CCTV Strategy website claims that "[we] regularly see evidence of its use in making our streets safer, reducing the fear of crime and detecting serious offences."^[4]

There have been several high-profile cases of CCTV being used successfully, particularly in the last point (examples including the identification of those responsible for the attempted bombings in London 21/7/5^[5] and various recent robberies).

Effectiveness of CCTV

There are many arguments for the use of CCTV cameras but few studies have been done on them. An internal report by the Metropolitan Police concluded that only one crime was solved for every 1,000 CCTV cameras^[6]. A paper by Nacro made in 2002 has some interesting findings;^[7]

• "offenders are not generally deterred by CCTV"
• "the initial reductions in crime and disorder following the installation of CCTV can fade"
• "a comprehensive review ... revealed the overall reduction in crime was only five per cent"

Even a Home Office study^[8] found that

• "It [is] easy to conclude from the information presented in [the] report that CCTV is not effective"
• "the public for the most part did not feel safer"

It should be noted that these studies do not distinguish between government- and privately-owned systems.

Current Law

The Policy Group's understanding is that the current law stems from the Data Protection Act (1998)^[9] which restricts how data, including information recorded by cameras, can be handled. The Information Commissioner's Office has produced guidelines^[10] for the use of CCTV cameras in semi-public places (i.e. shops, other businesses, not within private residences). These can be summarised as follows:

• The Information Commissioner must be notified,
• The system has a Data Controller responsible for the information,
• Cameras are placed to avoid catching pictures of people not visiting the premises,
• There are visible signs indicating the presence of the system, including (if not obvious) the contact details of the Data Controller,
• Data collected is securely stored and deleted within a reasonable time period,
• Data will not be passed on to third parties.

The Information Commissioner’s Office does have a publicly search-able database of registered Data Controllers, however it is not unique to CCTV cameras and seems designed in a way to make it difficult to find any information without already knowing it.^[11]

These guidelines do not specify what is legally required as opposed to what is requested and a recent study noted that around 73% of the privately-owned cameras in their sample were technically illegal ^[12] and the relevant laws were not being enforced. This would suggest that the current laws and guidelines are unsuitable and so new policy is required.

There are also some references to CCTV camera usage within the The Private Security Industry Act 2001 ^[13] (although CCTV is not specifically mentioned until the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Licences) Regulations 2007), section 2, (2), (d) of which suggests that a Public Space Surveillance Licence is required for CCTV systems other than those simply used identify trespassers or protect property.^[14]

Disclaimer: I have not thoroughly gone through The Private Security Industry Act 2001, so if anyone has any more information on this, I would appreciate help here.

Other Criticisms of CCTV

This is a section for any specific (or general) criticisms that I have missed, so feedback here would be greatly appreciated.

Questions

The Policy Group feels that the following questions need answering before any new legislation is put in place:

1. What purposes to CCTV cameras serve?
2. How effective are CCTV systems?
3. How many cameras are there in the UK (both government- and privately-owned)?
4. What percentage of existing CCTV systems
   1. are correctly registered with the Information Commissioner?
   2. comply with all other laws concerning their use?
5. What percentage of the population are aware of the legal rights they have (under the D.P.A. 1998) in terms of data collected on them?

If you have any data that could lead to answering these, please post it in the discussion.

Suggestions

Suggestion 1.1 Clear guidance on what the legal requirements of operating a CCTV system are (differentiating between those covering public and private property) including the relevant sections of the Data Protection Act 1998;

Suggestion 1.1a Advertising campaign to publish this information (possibly requiring the inclusion of documentation with CCTV equipment for sale).

Suggestion 1.1b Issuing of example signs to be placed in premises covered by CCTV systems.

Suggestion 1.2 Enforced registration of (non-residential, i.e. not including ones in private homes or where members of the public are likely to wander) CCTV Systems and the related Data Controller including;

Suggestion 1.2a number of cameras within the system,

Suggestion 1.2b registration fee (to cover costs of maintaining the register) dependent on the number of cameras,

Suggestion 1.2c possible criminal charges for failure to comply

Suggestion 1.3 Expand the role of the Information Commissioner's Office to include a section for checking/enforcing the regulations.

Suggestion 1.4 Introduction of a sub-database specific to CCTV camera registrations including the number held at each address, potentially allowing members of the public to "check up" on addresses they have seen cameras and lodge a complaint with the investigation team (although the database should include a disclaimer similar to the current one stating that an omission does not imply a criminal offence on its own).

Suggestion 1.5 Ensuring that government- or council-owned CCTV systems are bound by the same (or similar) laws to privately-owned ones.

Feedback

If you have any (ideally constructive) feedback on this then please add it to the discussion page or contact Duke.

Notes

1. ↑ UrbanEye.net
2. ↑ Channel4.com
3. ↑ HomeOffice.gov.uk
4. ↑ CrimeReduction.HomeOffice.gov.uk
5. ↑ Wikipedia.org
6. ↑ BBC.co.uk
7. ↑ Epic.org
8. ↑ HomeOffice.gov.uk
9. ↑ Opsi.gov.uk
10. ↑ ICO.gov.uk
11. ↑ ICO.gov.uk
12. ↑ UrbanEye.net - Section 5, paragraph 2
13. ↑ Opsi.gov.uk
14. ↑ the-SIA.org.uk

Votes

Here is a list of votes that I feel need to be taken by the party members. --Duke 12:04, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

1.1 Registration

What system of registration should be in force for CCTV cameras (including those operated by government organisations)?

1. All CCTV networks must be registered with the Information Commissioner.
2. All non-residential networks must be registered, residential ones may be. Current law - debatably enforced
3. All networks covering public space must be registered.
4. No compulsory registration.
5. More debate needed.

1.2 Access to registration data

Who should have access to the database of registered CCTV networks (assuming such a database exists)?

1. The general public (through an internet-based system). Current law - 'unfriendly' system
2. All police, security services (and similar anti-criminal government agencies) and local councils.
3. Local police forces (restricted to their own jurisdiction), security services.
4. More debate needed/no database.

1.3 Central Network

1.3.1 Should CCTV networks be connected to a central network?

1. All non-residential networks connected.
2. All networks covering public spaces.
3. No central network.
4. More debate needed.

1.3.2 Who should be able to access such a network?

1. The general public.
2. The police, security services etc.
3. Only local police (restricted to their jurisdiction.
4. A new/separate government department (independent of the police).
5. More debate needed/no network.