Legal concerns raised over Google Maps’ Street View
Story link: Legal concerns raised over Google Maps’ Street View by Lin Freestone
Some concerns have been raised about Google Maps’ new high-resolution images in its Street View feature, which enables people to easily find, discover, and plan activities relevant to a location.
So far, Google has used the tool in maps of just nine US cities. It offers 360-degree views at the street level, including people informally [...]
Britain perceived as surveillance society according to survey
Story link: Britain perceived as surveillance society according to survey by Jan Harris
According to an online poll for Liberty, the civil rights group, almost 60 per cent of people believe that Britain has become a surveillance society.
The poll also found that only 17 per cent of Britons trusted the authorities to maintain the confidentiality of their personal data.
Liberty believes that anti-terrorism measures implemented since the [...]
CCTV analysis could predict and prevent disasters
Story link: CCTV analysis could predict and prevent disasters by Lin Freestone
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has studied CCTV footage of disasters as it is believed that CCTV analysis could spot and warn of dangerous tensions to prevent them happening.
The team studied footage of the stampede on Saudi Arabia’s Jamarat Bridge during the Hajj of 2006 and found that crowds can experience sudden [...]
Fear of unrest boosts security system sales in Thailand
Story link: Fear of unrest boosts security system sales in Thailand by Lin Freestone
It has been predicted that demand for safety and security systems in Thailand is expected to grow over the next three years, driven by the fear of unrest. The value of safety and security systems in Thailand is set to grow by between 10% and 20% in 2008 to between 11 billion and 12 billion [...]
CCTV saves Wigan police £90,000
Story link: CCTV saves Wigan police £90,000 by Jan Harris
Wigan’s network of over 550 CCTV cameras, which is one of the most comprehensive systems in the country, is estimated to have helped save approximately £90,000 in police resource time.
Wigan Council’s Civica Public Protection enforcement software has been extended to include local police stations, allowing officers to view CCTV footage by simply logging an [...]
CCTV drone polices V Festival
Story link: CCTV drone polices V Festival by Jan Harris
Staffordshire Police have used a CCTV drone for the first time - to help patrol the V Festival site at Weston Park on the border of Staffordshire and Shropshire.
The remote control drone, dubbed ‘The Spy In The Sky’, resembles a helicopter. It flew around the site, and was particularly focused on the festival’s car [...]
CCTV to be deployed in Hamble
Story link: CCTV to be deployed in Hamble by Jan Harris
The Parish Council has approved the deployment of CCTV in the village of Hamble, near Southampton, as part of a strategy to reduce grafitti, antisocial behaviour, and attacks on village residents.
The decision to install CCTV cameras at various locations throughout the yachting village follows several recent attacks on people in the village.
The latest attack [...]
Wearable camera records what you see
Story link: Wearable camera records what you see by Jan Harris
Industrial designer Johan Frossen has collaborated with Sony Ericsson to develop a video camera which is worn either around the neck or on the head.
The fish-eye camera and microphone wirelessly transmit data to the user’s mobile phone for storage. It can then be edited and made into a non-fish eye format. It can [...]
US residents’ approval for surveillance cameras to cut crime
Story link: US residents’ approval for surveillance cameras to cut crime by Lin Freestone
There has been a surge of violence in north east Omaha in the USA, that has seen the shooting of 37 people since the beginning of July 2007, of whom two were killed. It has been reported by a local councilman that residents in areas where shootings have become commonplace would accept the installation of [...]
Wandsworth Council unveils mobile CCTV unit
Story link: Wandsworth Council unveils mobile CCTV unit by Jan Harris
Wandsworth Borough Council has revealed a state-of-the-art mobile CCTV unit which it will use to help combat crime and anti-social behaviour in the borough.
The £50,000 unit will be used by the police for the surveillance of areas where crime levels are high, helping them to gather evidence which could be used in court.
Local [...]
CameraWatch welcomes ICO’s CCTV proposals
Story link: CameraWatch welcomes ICO’s CCTV proposals by Jan Harris
CameraWatch, which advises organisations on complying with CCTV regulations, has welcomed the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) plan to redraft the CCTV code of practice.
CameraWatch believes the proposals are a welcome call for businesses to re-think whether CCTV needs to be deployed at each installation, and to make sure that is only being used for [...]
ICO could ban CCTV audio recording
Story link: ICO could ban CCTV audio recording by Jan Harris
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is developing new guidelines which could ban CCTV operators from recording people’s voices.
The organisation is updating its 2000 code of practice, a document which aims to help CCTV operators comply with the Data Protection Act.
The ICO has launched a public consultation on the proposed changes to the guidelines, [...]
Ireland secures €2.75m funding for CCTV
Story link: Ireland secures €2.75m funding for CCTV by Jan Harris
The Minister for Justice, Mr Brian Lenihan, has approved funding of €2.75m for the community-based CCTV Scheme.
The funding will provide grants for CCTV systems to towns across Ireland, in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour and deter crime.
Sixteen local groups from 12 areas of Ireland will receive capital grants to help them install [...]
Council’s CCTV surveillance has unexpected uses
Story link: Council’s CCTV surveillance has unexpected uses by Lin Freestone
A CCTV operation was set up by Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire following a complaint made by a member of the public. The object was to find out who, or what, was responsible for regularly leaving a mess by the side of the road at Cleckheaton, which was thought to be fouling by a dog. [...]
Wireless CCTV aids police at Tour De France 2007
Story link: Wireless CCTV aids police at Tour De France 2007 by Jan Harris
Wireless CCTV Ltd deployed its 3G Wireless Dome Cameras to monitor the London and Kent stage of the Tour De France 2007.
The company was appointed by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to provide monitoring equipment for the event and the deployment proved very successful with all stakeholders satisfied with both the equipment itself and [...]
Data protection rules lifted for Police to tap road cameras
Story link: Data protection rules lifted for Police to tap road cameras by Jan Harris
Data protection rules have been temporarily lifted, to allow real-time data from the 1,500 congestion charge cameras in London, to be used by the Metropolitan Police.
Transport for London has been given permission for the bulk transfer of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data to the police. The move is part of the strategy to [...]
Europe warns of video surveillance threat to freedoms
Story link: Europe warns of video surveillance threat to freedoms by Jan Harris
The Council of Europe’s European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, has warned that video surveillance of public places, by public operators, is a threat to the fundamental rights to respect for private life and freedom of movement.
The Commission recommends that member states should indicate the zones being filmed, [...]
US to emulate UK surveillance network
Story link: US to emulate UK surveillance network by Jan Harris
The UK network of around 4 million surveillance cameras is credited with playing a major role in the fight against terrorist and the US now seems set to follow the UK’s lead in the deployment of CCTV.
In New York, there are plans to fit hundreds of Manhattan buses with cameras. Motion sensors could also [...]
CCTV catches 2,000 incidents in just three months
Story link: CCTV catches 2,000 incidents in just three months by Jan Harris
Portsmouth’s network of 172 CCTV cameras captured over 2,000 incidents between April and June, highlighting the vital role they plan in combating crime and anti-social behaviour.
Around 84 arrests were made as a direct result of the incidents being spotted by CCTV camera operators at the control room in Portsmouth’s civic centre.
The cameras also provide [...]
High-tech CCTV comes to historic Railway Village
Story link: High-tech CCTV comes to historic Railway Village by Jan Harris
Swindon’s historic Railway Village could soon be home to high-tech CCTV cameras supplied by 802 Global.
The area, which is a heritage site, has an anti-social behaviour problem which the council is keen to address.
The ‘talking’ CCTV cameras, which would be attached to lampposts, would provide staff at the monitoring station with a 360-degree [...]