Big Brother Is Watching You Smoke

BirminghamLive reports that new "yellow vulture" speed cameras are being rolled out in the UK.

They are thought to be more discreet than the speed-tracking technology currently used on our roads.

Motorists pictured eating or smoking behind the wheel, or using their mobile phone, will be slapped with a £200 fine and 6 penalty points.

All very well and intrusive maybe, except for one wee point..it's not illegal to smoke or eat when driving!

As per the RAC:

1. Is it illegal to eat and drive?

No. It’s not illegal to eat and drive at the same time. However, if you present a significant danger while snacking on the move, the police could prosecute you for careless driving if they consider you not in proper control of the vehicle.

2. Is it illegal to drink when driving?

Similar to eating, drinking at the wheel is not illegal, but it can carry the same careless driving penalty.

3. Is smoking while driving illegal?

Smoking at the wheel is not an offence in itself, but if it leads to careless driving it could land you in trouble with the law.

Put that in your pipe Nanny and smoke it!

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Nanny's Nice Little Earner - Bus Lane CCTV

As loyal readers know, Nanny is strapped for cash. As such she is always looking for ways to tap her minions for more money.

One such mechanism is that of bus lane cameras being used to fine motorists.

The Telegraph reports that Nanny's bus lane cameras in England took 31m from motorists in 2015-16, fining almost 4,000 motorists per day.

The most lucrative camera in the country makes £6,000 every day.

The worst 10 cameras for catching drivers are centred in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manchester and London.
England's most lucrative bus lane is on the northbound section of John Dobson Street. It is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a council that made over £1m from bus lane fines in 2015/16.

A nice little earner!

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Irony!

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CCTV Is Useless

I am gemused to see that Tony Porter, Nanny's surveillance commissioner, has said that there are too many “useless and ineffective” CCTV cameras in Britain.

Mr Porter said the public does not realise the true extent of surveillance in Britain, and lacks the understanding to be able to consent what is happening.

He also said the country must not “sleepwalk into a surveillance society” and called on councils and businesses to publish exactly what information is being gathered by the cameras.

Asked on BBC Radio Five Live if he thought there were too many “useless” cameras in Britain, Mr Porter replied:

“I think undoubtedly there are because we know that for a fact.”

He is quoted by the Telegraph:

“There is a local authority actually in the West Midlands that did a local review and was able to reduce the cameras that were ineffective and useless to the tune of a quarter of a million. 

If that can be extrapolated across the country I think we can actually still maintain the balance of excellent surveillance but not have a promulgation of surveillance that actually is useless.”

As I have noted before, CCTV merely records a crime taking place. Unless CCTV cameras are fitted with lasers that zap a criminal in mid act of criminality they will not prevent crimes (at best they displace them).

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Nanny Slaughters Local Nanny's Cash Cow

I am gemused to see that central Nanny has decided to ban local Nanny from using CCTV to fine people for parking irregularities (ie wherein local councils use CCTV as an easy way to screw money out of people).

The Deregulation Bill, which is expected to be passed this Autumn, will ban councils from using CCTV cameras and “spy cars” to enforce parking restrictions in an effort to stop “over-zealous” enforcement.

Additionally drivers will be encouraged to appeal against more parking tickets, with the introduction of a 25% discount for those who try to overturn a fine but fail.

For why has central Nanny taken this stand?

Apart from the fact she knows that people loath their councils, she has also realised that by making it almost impossible to park anywhere local shops etc are suffering.

Cameras will only be used to enforce parking rules in bus lanes, on red routes and outside schools.

Councils of course hate this idea, and have warned that they will simply spend less on road repairs and subsidies for buses etc; ie they are threatening to take out their frustration on their own subjects.

These fines have been a real cash cow for local councils, approximately nine million parking fines are issued every year in England.

Yet a Local Government Association spokesman whined:

“It is utterly untrue, as the Government well knows, to describe the use of CCTV as some sort of cash cow which generates profits for councils.” 

Bollocks!

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Industrial CCTV - Ker Farking Ching!

 

As I have noted many times before on this site, councils are reluctant to face budgetary reality; ie they refuse to cut their coat according to their cloth.

Instead they use us as passive "milch cows", taxing and fining us to the brink of bankruptcy.

Fines are a favoured means to extracting money as Brandon Lewis, the local government minister, has noted. He has drawn attention to the fact that councils are using CCTV to issue motorists with parking fines on an “industrial” scale.

Big Brother Watch  has found growing numbers of local authorities are using the cameras to monitor parking offences and other traffic contraventions, in the five years to the end of March 2013 drivers have been fined at least £312M because of these cameras.

At least 36 local authorities across England and Wales are using static CCTV cameras and at least 58 are using cameras mounted on cars.

Lewis is quoted by the Telegraph in response to the report:

“It is clear that CCTV is being used to raise money in industrial volumes for town halls, breaking the constitutional principle that fines should not be used as a source of revenue.

Unreasonable parking charges and fines push up hard-working people’s cost of living.

If parking is too expensive or difficult, shoppers will drive to out of town supermarkets or just shop online, undermining the vitality of town centres and leading to ‘ghost town’ high streets.

That’s why the Government intends to clampdown on this clear abuse and misuse of parking CCTV.”

Emma Carr, deputy director of Big Brother Watch, said:

“The fact that no councils publish proper statistics about how these cameras are used highlights that many know that their CCTV operation is about raising money, not about public safety.

The Government rightly wants to reign in this unjustified surveillance, so councils are turning to desperate arguments about public safety to justify their cameras, despite having absolutely no evidence to back up their claims.

The use of CCTV and spy cars for parking enforcement should be banned.”

Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association’s economy and transport board, pooh poohs the suggestion the CCTV is being used to raise revenue:

“It is frustratingly familiar to hear Big Brother Watch again peddling the myth that councils are enforcing parking regulations just to raise money.

Road safety campaigners, schools, disability and pedestrian charities and councils have all come together to warn the Government that banning CCTV parking enforcement will put school children and disabled pedestrians at risk and worsen road safety.” 

Well, he would say that wouldn't he?

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Nanny's CCTV Code of Practice

I am particularly gemused to see that Nanny has introduced a code of practice on the use of surveillance cameras, by bodies such as local authorities and police forces, in England and Wales.

The Home Orifice introduced the code after concerns over the potential for the abuse or misuse of surveillance by the state in public places.

The code says the cameras must be used "in pursuit of a legitimate aim" and when it "meets a pressing need".

"Where used appropriately, these systems are valuable tools which contribute to public safety and security and in protecting both people and property. 

The purpose of the code will be to ensure that individuals and wider communities have confidence that surveillance cameras are deployed to protect and support them, rather than spy on them."

Hmmm, all very well but as I have noted before the only really effective CCTV is one that can fire a laser or equivalent weapon at the criminal whilst he/she is engaging in the illegal activity; rather than passively record a poor quality image that might be used a year or so later in a some tawdry court case.

Anyhoo the 12 point code of conduct says the use of a surveillance camera system must:

1. always be for a specified purpose which is in pursuit of a legitimate aim and necessary to meet an identified pressing need
2. take into account its effect on individuals and their privacy
3. have as much transparency as possible, including a published contact point for access to information and complaints
4. have clear responsibility and accountability for all surveillance activities including images and information collected, held and used
5. have clear rules, policies and procedures in place and these must be communicated to all who need to comply with them
6. have no more images and information stored than that which is strictly required
7. restrict access to retained images and information with clear rules on who can gain access
8. consider any approved operational, technical and competency standards relevant to a system and its purpose and work to meet and maintain those standards
9. be subject to appropriate security measures to safeguard against unauthorised access and use
10. have effective review and audit mechanisms to ensure legal requirements, policies and standards are complied with
11. be used in the most effective way to support public safety and law enforcement with the aim of processing images and information of evidential value, when used in pursuit of a legitimate aim
12. be accurate and kept up to date when any information is used to support a surveillance camera system which compares against a reference database for matching purposes

There are of course many more CCTV systems than those just used by the police and local authorities (ie there are systems not covered by the code), additionally in the event that the code is breached there appears to be no penalty system in place to reprimand those bodies that breach the code.

In other words, so what?

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The Thieving Bastards of Newham Council

As loyal readers know, Nanny and her chums will do anything in their power to screw this country's hapless citizens out of as much money as possible.

Up until now this "milch cow" approach was under the guise of Nanny's rule of "law", now it seems that Nanny has gone one step further and is happy to gather such tithes illegally and outwith the rule of law.

Step forward the thieving bastards from Newham Council, who have happily been issuing illegal parking tickets over the last two years based on "evidence" garnered from a dozen cameras that have not been authorised by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).
 
The BBC reports that Newham Council knows that between 2011 and 2013 it issued 6,840 tickets from unauthorised cameras - making £350,000.

By law, only camera models that have been specifically authorised by the VCA can be used by councils. Otherwise authorities might use cameras that are not of a high enough calibre to be relied upon for evidence. However, Newham Council was using cameras that did not have approval.

The council has now cancelled all the parking tickets that were unpaid, writing off a total of £347,376. However, it is refusing to refund those drivers who settled the unlawful fines straight away.

 

A Newham Council spokesman said:

"An internal review in June 2013 of 169 cameras operated by Newham Council found that 12 cameras used to issue parking tickets were not fully certified at that time. 

The council has decided that all outstanding fines from tickets issued via these cameras will be cancelled.

The cameras recorded vehicle use which was liable for enforcement.

As other councils have established in law when involved in similar cases on a much larger scale, we will therefore not be allowing appeals on tickets paid in relation to these cameras."

Ker Farking Ching!

Newham council are thieving bastards, happy to enforce the law in order to extract money from local residents but refusing to obey the law when it comes to its own behaviour and criminal activity.

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CCTV Free Pubs

I am pleased to see that pubs in England and Wales with no history of trouble will no longer be forced by local authorities to install CCTV systems, that at least is what Nanny has said she wants.

The Information Commissioner had said it was seriously concerned by the number of new CCTV cameras being foisted on trouble free pubs; as such the Department for Communities and Local Government is to issue new guidance to licensing authorities.

The new code of practice is aimed at encouraging police and local authorities to consider whether putting in new cameras is "appropriate" in all cases.

Community Pubs Minister Brandon Lewis is quoted by the BBC:

"CCTV has a role to play in stopping and deterring crime in anti-social behaviour hotspots.

But well-run community pubs that don't have a public order problem shouldn't be tarred with the same brush."

As to whether local authorities pay heed to the proposed new guidance of course remains to be seen!

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Nanny's Cat Cam

Beware Nanny's secret new CCTV, cunningly disguised as a cat!

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Big Brother - Welcome To Camden III

I am "gemused" to see that, despite some heavy backtracking by Camden council over its Robocop talking CCTV installed at Walker House (filmed above by Jim Jepps, a local resident), some Labour councillors revealed their true nature.

According to Spiked, Roger Robinson said:

"People have been known to smash cars and steal motorbikes. 

We’re entitled to do something."

"Entitled" Mr Robinson?

No, you are not "entitled", you are in your position at the sufferance of the people. It is for them to define and limit your role in their lives!

Oh, and as I pointed out yesterday, there is no farking crime at Walker House!

The state, councils and police will only be happy when public places (including social networks) are shut down (wrt social networks read this article about the internet on my Olympics site).

Despite the fact that camera no longer speaks, as I noted yesterday, it still sees.

In fact we are watched by around 4.5million CCTV cameras in this country.

Councils are the enemies of the people!



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Big Brother - Welcome To Camden II

In an update to my earlier article about the talking CCTV, installed at Walker House by Camden council, Camden council now claim that the voice system was activated accidentally.

Anyone believe that?

They have now deactivated the voice!

Snort!

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Big Brother - Welcome To Camden

My compliments to Camden Council for living "the dream", and turning Walker House (a housing estate) into a version of 1984.

The council, for reasons best known to themselves, have installed CCTV talking cameras in the communal grounds of Walker House.

What do these cameras do?

Well, if you happen to walk near them, they talk to you in an American accent and say:

Stop, this is a restricted area and your photograph is being taken. It will be sent for processing if you don't leave the area now."

The council claim that it is to stop anti social behaviour, drug dealing etc etc.

However, here are two modest factoids:

1 Not everyone who walks through the communal grounds is a criminal (these are communal grounds after all!).

2 The Home Office's crime-mapping site does not show any crimes at the estate in the last year.

These cameras are highly annoying, offensive, dangerous and bollocks!

Councils are the enemies of the people!

Enjoy the above footage taken by local resident Jim Jepps.

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Nanny's Spy in The Cab

I am more than a little gobsmacked to learn that Oxford City Council has decreed that all of Oxford's 662 taxis must be fitted with microphones and CCTV cameras.

For why?

The council wants all conversations and images in the cab to be recorded, cameras etc will start automatically as soon as the ignition is fired and will continue up to 30 minutes after the engine is turned off.

Cabbies must keep recordings for a defined period of time afterwards.

This is a gross intrusion into personal privacy by the state.

As noted many times before on this site, councils are the enemies of the people.

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Prats of The Week - Shepway District Council

Good morning everyone!

Another week dawns, and what better way to start the week than by awarding another one of my prestigious and internationally renowned "Prats of The Week" Awards.

This week it goes to Shepway District Council.

For why?

For their bizarre decision to install "shouting lampposts".

Eh?

The lampposts (£4K each) are designed to photograph fly tippers (and are located near set of industrial bins behind The Old High Street in Folkestone). In addition, whilst the photo is being taken, the lampposts issue a loud verbal warning about not fly tipping and warning people that the lamppost is taking a picture.

Now the theory behind all of that sounds perfectly fine, if it really does deter fly tippers.

However, there is one small fly in the oinkment here.

For reasons that are pretty obvious to all but those in the council, the lampposts cannot distinguish between fly tippers and anyone else who happens to walk near the vicinity of the bins.

The result being that the lampposts take pictures of everyone, and shout (like a drunk waving a vodka bottle) at all and sundry!

Shepway District Council, well deserving Prats of The Week!




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Speed

I am gemused to read that, according to statistics published by Nanny's Department for Transport, many speed cameras have not cut accident rates, but may even have increased them.

Our local councils, proving once again that they are the enemies of the people, have been a tad reluctant to publish the full data on each speed camera in their area.

Why?

Cos they make a nice fat little profit out of fining those who "speed".

However, the government has told them to all publish the data, as motorists have a right to know whether local speed cameras are justified. Needless to say, the councils will ignore this request.

Here are a couple of examples:

A speed camera was erected (ooh there's that word again!) on the A329 in Little Milton in 1997 (despite there being no collisions or casualties for five years).

Over the next five years there were five collisions and ten casualties.

A camera was installed on the A1134 Newmarket Road in Cambridgeshire in 1997 following five minor casualties.

In 2010, when 1,027 drivers were caught breaking the 30mph speed limit, there were seven injuries, two of them serious.

As noted, councils are the enemies of the people!

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Royston's Big Brother

I am somewhat disturbed to learn that Royston, a town in Hertfordshire with a population of 15,000, has installed sets of police cameras on every road leading in and out of the town which record the numberplates of every vehicle that passes them.

The system then checks the plates against a variety of databases, studying them for links to crimes, and insurance and tax records, and alerting police accordingly.

Is Royston such a dangerous place?

Ermm..no it isn't..there were in fact only 7 incidents of vehicle crime in the town the other month.

Details of the cars' movements will stay on police records for 2 years, or 5 if the car is connected to a crime.

Why does Nanny need to keep details of a non criminal car's movements on her systems for 2 years?

Who has access to this data?

Will we see details sold on the the media (as seems to be the norm these days)?

As we saw in the recent riots the police seem to like to use CCTV for "post crime" clean up, rather than crime prevention. One has to ask, how do these things really make people feel any safer?

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The Joy of CCTV - Ker Farking Ching!

I see that a new speed camera, amusingly called Asset (advanced safety and driver support for essential road transport), may be deployed in the UK.

Asset, aside from being able to spot speeding drivers, will also spot those who are not wearing seatbelts and measure distances between moving cars to identify tailgating.

The development of Asset is being funded by the European commission, and is currently being tested in Finland.

Deployment across all of Europe (including our "island haven") is expected to be complete by 2013.

The question is, will Nanny and her "beloved" local authorities be able to resist using this camera as a means to fill her much depleted coffers?

Ker Farking Ching!

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Big Brother - Internet Eyes

Almost a year ago, last October, I wrote about "Internet Eyes":

"Internet Eyes (a private company) will offer up to £1,000 if viewers spot shoplifting or other crimes in progress, on the dubious pretext of combining crime prevention with the incentive of winning money.

The scheme is due to go live in Stratford-upon-Avon in November, and will stream live footage to subscribers' home computers from CCTV cameras installed in shops and other businesses.

If viewers see a crime in progress, they can press a button to alert store detectives and collect points worth up to £1,000."

A loyal reader has kindly advised me that Internet Eyes has been set up (according to "Get Wokingham") to monitor the store feed from Alworths, a shop in Wokingham.

Seemingly an investigation into the town's existing CCTV network had shown the camera feed was going back to a monitoring station in Reading, but no-one was watching it permanently.

CCTV, in theory, sounds great as a "crime prevention" tool.

However, it does not prevent crime, it merely observes the crime taking place. Unless someone in the monitoring station is alert enough, and the police quick enough, the criminals have already done their dirty deed and scarpered before the tapes are reviewed.

Allowing members of the public to access/use the feed as a form of "game show" is positively dangerous wrt privacy issues, and will bring out the very worst aspects of human nature (wrt snooping and nosiness).

This is a snoopers charter, there are more than enough saddos who have nothing better to do than watch other people doing "very little" (eg the "reality" show Big Brother).

We will become a nation of snoopers!

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Nanny's Council Spies Screw Up

You know how proud Nanny is of her extensive, and ever growing, network of CCTV cameras that follow our every move?

Well, my loyal readers, a rather large fly landed in Nanny's oinkment the other day in the shape of The Thirst.

The Thirst are a Brixton rock band, who were performing a gig at a pub in Chasetown, near Cannock on November 21.

Having duly "gigged", they were making their way back to their vehicles when 30 armed members of Nanny's "finest" (Staffordshire police), dog handlers and a helicopter "greeted" them with the well worn phrase:

"Down on the bloody ground!"

The Thirst were then taken off to the local nick and had their DNA taken.

Was their performance really so bad?

Errmmm...no, not quite!

Seemingly a member of the local council CCTV monitoring department saw one of The Thirst with a "gun" earlier in the evening.

Nanny's finest leaped to action, after allowing the performance to go ahead, and nicked them.

A few small points to raise at this point:

1 It was not a gun, but a set of jump leads for a flat battery

2 The police, for reasons that escape me, did not look at the CCTV footage themselves; they took the word of a council employee as gospel

3 Having not found any gun, the police still took DNA samples

Am I alone in finding this more than a tad "worrying"?

Since when were council staff members of the police?

Since when was it standard practice to nick, and DNA someone without any evidence?

Suffice to say a full apology has now been given, and an investigation is underway.

However, what would have happened if The Thirst had not been so co-operative?

This could have turned into a very ugly incident, all down to the say so of a council employee.

CCTV is not the be all and end all of law enforcement.

The pictures are invariably lousy, the "evidence" suspect and the fact that CCTV does not deter that many crimes (displacement, zero real time deterrent etc) indicates that it is a poor substitute for real, properly trained officers on the beat.

Visit The Orifice of Government Commerce and buy a collector's item.

Visit The Joy of Lard and indulge your lard fantasies.

Show your contempt for Nanny by buying a T shirt or thong from Nanny's Store.

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