Concerns About Legality of Number Plate Cameras

Story link: Concerns About Legality of Number Plate Cameras by Brian Turner

The chief surveillance commissioner, Sir Andrew Leggatt, has advised that automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras could be operating illegally and the Home Office is now reviewing their legal status.

In his annual report to the Prime Minister and Scottish Ministers, the chief surveillance commissioner warned that ANPR cameras could be considered as covert surveillance, making them illegal. He advised that legislation may be required to provide a framework for the use of the latest technological advances.

The commissioner warned that the use of ANPR cameras, which record number plates and also photograph a car’s passengers, may involve human rights and privacy issues. According to Mr Leggatt, the use of the cameras could be categorised as covert surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

He advised that the admissibility at trial of evidence obtained with ANPR cameras could depend on whether its admission would have an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings.

However, according to Dr Chris Pounder, a data protection specialist with law firm Pinsent Masons, the data protection law requires such cameras to be visible and the cameras are subject to the fair processing obligations under the Data Protection Act. This means that car drivers and passengers should be aware that cameras are in use and if this is the case, the cameras cannot be covert.

However a document produced by ACPO’s National ANPR User Group suggests that the Act does not specify where the signs are to be placed in relation to the camera site. This means that the signs could be displayed after the camera site meaning that car drivers and passengers would not be aware that they were in use until after the images had been taken.

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the use of cameras is covered by data protection legislation. The ICO would deal with complaints on the basis of data protection breaches, while the surveillance commissioner would deal with issues of criminality and RIPA.