Hah!
I can't but resist a self satisfied "ejaculation" (can I say that here?) of
"HAH!"
For why?
I will tell you.
It would seem that, according to the watchdog CameraWatch, the vast majority of Britain's CCTV cameras are operating illegally or are in breach of privacy guidelines.
A large proportion of the UK's 14.2 million cameras breach the Data Protection Act and so are illegal, according to CameraWatch.
CameraWatch's chairman Gordon Ferrie, a former policeman, said recently:
"Our research shows that up to
90 per cent of CCTV installations
fail to comply with the Information Commissioner's
code of practice, and that
many installations are operated illegally.
That has profound implications
for the reputation of the CCTV and camera
surveillance industry and all concerned with it.
There is nothing better than actually seeing
someone commit the crime.
All we are asking is that the images that are
taken are compliant with the Data Protection Act."
Under the code of practice and according to the Data Protection Act, CCTV cameras must be visible with clear signs. In addition, camera operators have an obligation to stop images of individuals being seen by third parties.
Mr Ferrie said that operators most commonly breach these rules by not keeping recorded tapes secure, meaning they could potentially be stolen.
Nanny's Information Commissioner's Office has denied that CCTV rules are being broken on a large scale.
Ken Macdonald, Assistant Information Commissioner for Scotland, said:
"We welcome the initiative by CameraWatch
to promote compliance with the Data Protection Act.
We are not aware of any evidence that
supports the suggestion that 90 per cent
of CCTV cameras are not complying with
the ICO Code of Practice.
We don't believe there is any such evidence.
Where we receive complaints that CCTV
is being used in breach of the Data Protection Act
we will investigate.
We have a range of enforcement powers at our disposal."
Well he would say that, wouldn't he?
Actually, there is something "better than actually seeing the crime". It's preventing the crime from happening in the first place. This can be accomplished, to some extent, by having tougher sentencing and also allowing people the right to defend themselves.
ReplyDeleteKeeping habitual 'high volume' criminals (Burglars for example) locked up will, obviously reduce the amount of crime they can perpetrate. So treating THEM as minor offenders to be dealt with in the community would seem counter-productive.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago I heard, from a serving policeman, that on his quite large patch in the home counties (a few miles south of London for our overseaes friends) there were just a handful of regular burglars, about 8 iirc, who generated nearly all the burglary crime. They had managed to get most of them locked up for Xmas on motoring charges!
Not the sort of volume of criminals to swamp the prison system really, is it?
So I agree with Anon.
However, if the 'justice' system were to be successful in reducing the amount of repeat crime there would be less for it to do.
Consequentially the earnings and status of those working in the system would be diminished. As would the status of the politicians responsible for it.
So what incentive is there for anyone with a vested interest in the revenue stream related to 'controlling' crime to be focused on reducing it? It would leave them nothing to control.
Grant
Illegal CCTV will be no problem for this bunch of arse'oles; they'll just change the law.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Camera Watch that 'not-for-profit' organisation run by the CCTV industry?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they've pointed out a problem that requires the attention of security consultants to be fixed...