Met Officer claims CCTV doesn’t cut crime
Story link: Met Officer claims CCTV doesn’t cut crime by Jan Harris
A senior officer from the Met has raised doubts about the use of CCTV to reduce crime.
Detective Chief Inspector Neville’s comments come at a time when Britain is widely regarded as the surveillance capital of Europe, with an estimated 4.2 million closed circuit television watching its citizens every day.
In fact Britain has just [...]
CCTV car patrols school run
Story link: CCTV car patrols school run by Jan Harris
In a move that is likely to add fuel to the argument that Britain is becoming a surveillance society, Harrow Council has started monitoring the school run with a specially adapted smart car.
The car, which is equipped with a CCTV camera mounted on a 15ft mast, is being used to catch parents who park [...]
Nanny cams cause concern
Story link: Nanny cams cause concern by Jan Harris
Parents in the UK are increasingly using ‘nanny cams’ to check that their children are being safely cared for.
The in-home surveillance technology is popular in the USA, but UK sales are now increasing rapidly according to online retailers such as eBay.
A variety of wireless cameras are available which can be concealed in household [...]
Lisburn CCTV turned off
Story link: Lisburn CCTV turned off by Jan Harris
Lisburn Commerce Against Crime, a charity run by a voluntary board, has been forced to turn off CCTV cameras in Lisburn and the surrounding area, due to a shortfall in funding.
The organisation has switched off the award-winning system indefinitely, raising concern that crime could increase as a result.
Lisburn Commerce Against Crime has been [...]
Survey highlights importance of home security
Story link: Survey highlights importance of home security by Jan Harris
According to a survey carried out by Intamac Systems Ltd, a quarter of households in the UK have been burgled, and 86% of these homes were not protected by a security system when the burglary occurred.
Several reasons were given for this lack of security provision, including prohibitive costs, insufficient free time to install the [...]
CCTV monitoring of parking offences criticised
Story link: CCTV monitoring of parking offences criticised by Jan Harris
New regulations will be introduced on 1 April, allowing district councils to use CCTV cameras to issue parking tickets, but some Councils won’t be rushing to make use of their new powers.
Under the optional new powers provided by changes to the Traffic Management Act, wardens will be able to issue a ticket remotely, instead [...]
Plans for ‘mugshot’ database revealed
Story link: Plans for ‘mugshot’ database revealed by Jan Harris
Plans for a database of ‘mugshots’, which could be used in conjunction with CCTV to help identify criminals, were revealed at a Government inquiry into the ‘Surveillance Society’.
Speaking at the home affairs committee inquiry, Peter Neyroud, chief executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency, described how mobile devices could be used by police to [...]
Dundee trials CCTV in taxis
Story link: Dundee trials CCTV in taxis by Jan Harris
Dundee Council is fitting CCTV cameras into six taxis in the city, in a six-month trial of the technology.
The cameras will monitor the whole car and will be able to record sound. They will also be equipped with infrared for night monitoring.
Footage taken by the cameras will be encrypted, and will be [...]
500,000 CCTV cameras to monitor Olympics
Story link: 500,000 CCTV cameras to monitor Olympics by Jan Harris
The Metropolitan Police (Met) force’s plan to police the 2012 Olympics includes the use of up to 500,000 CCTV cameras.
The Met hopes to use its own network of 10,000 cameras, together with traffic and congestion cameras across London.
The military, police and intelligence services would work together to operate the network from a [...]
Northumberland school buses fitted with CCTV
Story link: Northumberland school buses fitted with CCTV by Jan Harris
Northumberland County Council has decided to install CCTV cameras in school buses in the county, in order to deter bad behaviour among pupils.
The cameras will be part of a pilot scheme designed to improve safety on the buses.
It is hoped that the £70,000 project will have a strong deterrent effect by making it [...]
72% of Scots against CCTV eavesdropping
Story link: 72% of Scots against CCTV eavesdropping by Jan Harris
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched its new CCTV code of practice at the Scottish Parliament today, and also released details of a survey of a thousand people in Scotland.
Seventy-two per cent of respondents to the survey were against CCTV cameras which record conversations. This supports an earlier survey in London and South East [...]
GMB union calls for CCTV in all minicabs
Story link: GMB union calls for CCTV in all minicabs by Jan Harris
The GMB union’s Professional Drivers Branch is planning to lobby the Department of Transport to support the installation of CCTV in all minicabs.
The GMB wants to alert the public to the increasing number of attacks on minicab drivers, through events on Workers Memorial Day (28th April 2008).
There were 45 serious attacks on licensed [...]
ICO bans CCTV voice recording
Story link: ICO bans CCTV voice recording by Jan Harris
Hidden microphones mounted on CCTV cameras are to be banned under a new code of practice being launched by the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas.
The Information Commissioner believes that the camera microphones, some of which which can listen in to private conversations up to 100 yards away, are a serious breach of civil liberties.
The new code [...]
Liberty calls for regulations on household CCTV
Story link: Liberty calls for regulations on household CCTV by Jan Harris
Human rights organisation, Liberty, is calling for CCTV legislation to be updated to take into account the growing number of cameras being installed by householders in the UK.
With increasing concern over levels of crime, and CCTV technology becoming more readily available and affordable, many householders are installing systems on their own property in an [...]
Council approves CCTV for Lerwick
Story link: Council approves CCTV for Lerwick by Jan Harris
Shetland Islands Council has approved the installation of 13 CCTV cameras in Lerwick town centre.
An application for one additional camera will be considered by planners in February.
Images from the Council’s new £200,000 CCTV system will be relayed to Lerwick police station for recording and monitoring.
The decision to approve the system is a [...]
UK citizens monitored more than rest of Europe
Story link: UK citizens monitored more than rest of Europe by Jan Harris
Privacy International’s 2007 ‘International Privacy Ranking’ places the UK as the worst surveillance society in the European Union, and one of the worst in the world.
The UK’s citizens are the most monitored in the whole of Europe, according to the report by the civil liberties group.
Privacy International used data on how 47 countries [...]
Moray Council deploys covert CCTV cameras
Story link: Moray Council deploys covert CCTV cameras by Jan Harris
As part of a £250,000 investment in CCTV, Moray Council has purchased hi-tech mobile radio cameras which can be hidden in fake rocks and plants.
The cameras will be deployed at troublespots in order to help prevent anti-social behaviour and fly-tippers, and to help catch offenders. Moray Council is the second local authority [...]
Mayoral candidate promises live streaming CCTV on buses
Story link: Mayoral candidate promises live streaming CCTV on buses by Jan Harris
As part of his campaign to be London mayor, Boris Johnson has promised that if he were elected, he would bring in a six-month trial of live screening of CCTV on buses in the capital.
The £150,000 pilot scheme is designed to help police improve security on London’s transport network. It would beam live footage from [...]
Funding bid for CCTV across NE Derbyshire
Story link: Funding bid for CCTV across NE Derbyshire by Jan Harris
NE Derbyshire Community Safety Partnership is seeking funding for the development of a £160,000 wireless CCTV system, linking 24 villages to a central CCTV hub.
The new system would connect existing cameras, and planned new cameras across the district, to the central monitoring station. It would also feature a radio system for businesses and the [...]
Rapid growth predicted in global CCTV market
Story link: Rapid growth predicted in global CCTV market by Lin Freestone
The worldwide CCTV market is expected to grow by 13% every year until 2011, according to research conducted by RNCOS. The growth is expected to cover both IP-based CCTV and conventional systems.
Security concerns over a rising threat of terrorism, together with increasing retail activity, has driven the demand for low-cost, reliable and innovative technology. However, [...]