British Cops Try To Force CCTV On Pub Owner
from the surveillance-society dept
The use of CCTV continues to grow in the UK as police and intelligence agencies seek to cover ever-larger areas of the country with security cameras in an attempt to prevent and solve crime. In many cases, the cameras are covering public areas, but one pub owner in London says that police are trying to force him to install CCTV cameras in his business -- and turn footage over to them upon demand -- as a condition of his operating license. The man bought an existing pub, and the change of ownership required him to apply for a new license. He alleges local police said they wouldn't oppose the new license, as long as he installed a CCTV system that captured images of every person that came into his pub, and made that footage freely available to them as part of a new blanket policy covering particular parts of London. The office of the British Information Commissioner took exception to the plan, saying this sort of blanket policy for new license holders raised serious privacy concerns, and could fall foul of data protection rules. It finally looks like there's some significant pushback against the UK's growing surveillance society, both from the Information Commissioner, but also in the form of a recent report from the House of Lords, saying the country's 4 million and counting CCTV cameras were undermining personal freedom and privacy, which are vital to democracy.
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Filed Under: cctv, surveillance, uk
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The 4 million figure comes from a debunked study that extrapolated figures from a single street in London. As far as I'm aware, this number has never been verified by any other means and is most likely wildly incorrect.
As for this particular story, it's a single police force suggesting that his licence application would be easier if CCTV were installed. They didn't make it a condition of the licence, nor is it official policy elsewhere.
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ULondonK
What else can we say? Clearly London is favoring
PoliceState
___________
Personal Freedom
(Any other word games you'd like to play?
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This one line is all I need to judge you an idiot.
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The Metropolitan Police are saying that they will not challenge the licence application if CCTV is installed. This is a single police force based in London (out of, I believe, 43 in the whole country), and licence applications are easier if the local police force do not challenge it.
Where did my statement go wrong?
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Please to remember the 5th of November
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Re: Please to remember the 5th of November
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Re: Re: Please to remember the 5th of November
Guy Fawkes Night (also known as Bonfire Night, Cracker Night, Fireworks Night, Bonny Night) is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th of November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5 November, 1605 in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, were alleged to be attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London, England.
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Re: Please to remember the 5th of November
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Ok Paul, but...
And BTW, "London != UK"... I knew that one! But, (there is always a but) I lived on the UK for a couple of years (bot in London) and I was surprised by the number of CCTV all around the country.
Wonderful country, even when you have no may privacy ;)
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Not some back water...
Granted, London has a hugh amount of CCTV cameras but, where I live I can get too and from work (our building has 4 cameras) and never see a single camera and that includes traffic cameras.
When I visited the States I couldn't believe how "Big Brother" it felt. From the airports, traffic lights, public parks and shopping malls, you guys have cameras everywhere. I felt like I was being treated like a terrorist, just for having the nerve to step off a plane (and I'm not of middle eastern descent)!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not "down" on America, far from it, I had some great times there, but please stop assuming that the UK starts and ends with London and your quaint idea of chocolate box cottages. From personal experience, America needs to put its own house in order before it starts criticising others...
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Re: Not some back water...
I don't know of any Americans that actually think of the UK as "quaint" or "backward." Most people fully understand that the UK is as modern as we are.
"American needs to put its own house in order before it starts criticizing others..."
Um, no. America absolutely has problems that need to be fixed, but refusing to critically analyze the rest of the world and learn from it was exactly the core mistake of the Bush regime. Thank goodness we finally have a president who realizes that competent human beings exist all over the world, not just in the US. Too bad he has to be so naive and two-faced on other issues, though.
Last, where did you go that had cameras everywhere? I live in the Midwest, and I rarely travel, but I have not experienced that at all. Many businesses have a private security camera system, but there is nothing approaching the level of intrusiveness of placing government cameras inside a private business.
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Re: Re: Not some back water...
Then why do they have a Queen/King?
"Most people fully understand that the UK is as modern as we are."
Some day hopefully when they straighten out their political system.
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Re: Re: Re: Not some back water...
Tradition. Its a bit like rebel flag in the state flag of (whatever southern state still has the damn thing in it.) They don't hang on to that silly nonsense becuase they really wish to bring back slavery, they just do it 'cause they've been doing it for ever, same thing with the Royals. Liz II doesn't have any power, not really. Who gives a damn about them? Conspiracy assholes, that's who. You need to put your concern where it really belongs. With the growing power of the government of the US and all the other so-called "Democracies." Feh.
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Re: Not some back water...
I fixed it for you.
We get what an awful country you live in. We get that London is one of the worse examples.
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Re: Re: Not some back water...
Two can play that game ;) Unless you've lived there for any length of time, you're in no position to judge London (90% - at least - of what you read about it is tabloid hyperbole that's a long way from the truth), and London is a long way from being representative of most of England, let alone the UK.
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Re: Re: Re: Not some back water...
I do believe that that was my point.
Are all UKers as thick as you are?
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Re: Not some back water...
Please - anyone dumb enough to think that the UK is a bigger police state than the US must be err... American?
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Re: Not some back water...
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sf suave.....
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Re: sf suave.....
Here in Dallas you can drive along any major highway and be inside the view of state hosted cameras nearly 100% of the drive. As well as numerous areas of the city are under police surveilance to "assist with fighting crime."
To my knowledge all these cameras were installed without consulting the population. I lived here before they were installed, and never heard a word about them being installed until they just strted showing up on the tops of really tall poles.
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Re: sf suave.....
Here in NY there are many of them and some were here pre-9/11.
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Re: sf suave.....
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It's all part of the same agenda ran by the same bankers and politicians, controlling us.
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Phahhh!
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GWOT
My first reaction is that the same thing is always going to occur : public demand for answers will prompt 'answers'...just don't insist on accuracy.
So today we know that the 9/11 investigation was bullshit and that spying on Americans has been intrusive for years. What is still not realized that that was just a matter of degree, not of kind.
The cameras ? Who has time to analyze all that content ? This will put 'crime fighting' back, not ahead, because too many false leads will be generated. But if you want to 'get' somebody, the state won't be able to keep its seive of a security network from spilling out all kinds of personal secrets.
That should be handy for organized blackmail.
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Re: GWOT
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CCTV
Would having the footage available under court supervision to curb criminal behavior be a good thing (subject to appellate review, a single judge can't be trusted!)? Of course!
The correct answer is somewhere in the middle, not on the fringes of the extreme right or the extreme left.
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please can you provide proof of your assertions such as "The 4 million figure comes from a debunked study that extrapolated figures from a single street in London" and "CCTV coverage outside of the capital is a lot lower than people try to make out with this kind of story."
Nice how you are the "expert" about CCTV in the UK, given that you live in, err, Spain.
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UK Police State
10: RFID TAGS IN RUBBISH BINS
Local councils in the UK now put RFID tags in rubbish bins to monitor the amount of waste created by each household with a view to enforcing a "recycling tax."
9: RFID'S IN PASSPORTS AND OYSTER CARDS
The UK government has now put a RFID chip into passports and the Oyster card records details on every journey made.
8: PAY PER MILE
Drivers will have an RFID chip installed in their car and be forced to pay for every mile they drive.
7: HAVE TO APPLY TO PROTEST
Do you want to make your voice heard? Well, if you want to protest in the centre of London you now have to apply for permission from the police.
6: X-RAY CAMERAS ON STREET
The government now plans to install X-Ray cameras in a bid to combat "terrorism".
5: CHILDREN FINGERPRINTED IN SCHOOL
Children can now have their biometric data taken from them at school without their parents consent.
4: SHOUTING CAMERAS
There are now cameras that shout orders at people who "misbehave" in the street.
3: CCTV CAMERAS IN SCHOOL TOILETS
Schools justify the complete loss of privacy for children by saying it cuts down on vandalism and bullying.
2: NATIONAL DNA DATABASE
Police now want powers to take DNA samples from people on the street for petty offences such as speeding or dropping litter.
1: TERRORISM ACT
Under section 44 of the Terrorism Act police officers can search you without the need to show that an offence is being committed. Not only that, but even if you are innocent you can be held for 28 days without charge.
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