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Big Bleadon is Watching You

Posted on 10th November, 2019

 

 

Bleadon Parish Council (BPC) has bought a new CCTV system which has increased the number and sophistication of the cameras focused on the village halls, play park, Youth Club and toilet areas. (Costing residents around £2K to purchase and install, with ongoing costs for maintenance and WIFI usage)

 

The Council's October minutes have just been published stating:

"Concerns were raised by a member of the public as to the Council's CCTV and whether they were operating with sound being recorded. There were also questions raised as to the remote log in system, who had access to the CCTV footage, and the Council's CCTV policy." (Oct 19 Min 327.6)

These five cameras appear to be high definition with infra-red night vision, remote access viewing and sound recording capability! I wonder what conversations they expect to hear?

 

Since when has Bleadon had such a criminal and fearful neighbourhood? We look forward to BPC's answers to these concerns in the near future ...... In the meantime Hot Fuzz anyone? .....

 

 

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BACKGROUND

 

The following extracts make reference to BPC's new CCTV policy introduced in May 2019.

 

BPC's Stated Purpose for CCTV

"The purposes of the CCTV system installed by the Parish Council are:

  • to monitor the security of [physical assets] the Coronation Halls, Youth Centre, car park and the play area equipment;
  • to assist Law Enforcement Agencies with identification, detection, apprehension and prosecution of offenders of crime and anti-social behaviour in the vicinity of the Coronation Halls, Youth Centre, public toilets, car park and the play area by providing them with retrievable images provided by the system;
  • to improve safety and security for users and visitors and staff and to help prevent loss or damage to the buildings, motor vehicles in the car park, and equipment and assets of the Parish Council;
  • to reduce the fear of persons using and working in the area regarding crime and antisocial behaviour;
  • to deter potential offenders by publicly displaying the existence of CCTV and signs of its operation."

Since when has Bleadon had such a criminal and fearful neighbourhood?

 

What CCTV equipment is installed?

"The installation consists of five high definition cameras fixed to the Bleadon Youth Centre soffit .. All the cameras have built-in infra-red ability for night-time usage ... The system has sound recording capability" YET "The Parish Council is committed to the recommendations of the Code of Practice for Surveillance Cameras and Personal Information published by the Information Commissioner", which states,

"Using surveillance systems can be privacy intrusive. They are capable of placing large numbers of law-abiding people under surveillance and recording their movements as they go about their day-to-day activities." (Para 4.0)

"None of these devices [including CCTV] should be purchased merely because they are available, affordable or in the belief that it will garner public approval. It is very important that you perform a privacy impact assessment" (Para 7.5)

Where is BPC's assessment published?

"Surveillance systems should not normally be used to record conversations between members of the public as this is highly intrusive and unlikely to be justified. You should choose a system without this facility if possible“ (Para 8.0)

Also North Somerset Council state that their " ... system equipment does not record sound and there will be no possibility of recording private conversations.” (NSC's CCTV Policy Para 3.3)

So why did BPC appear to choose a system with sound recording? Is the sound currently activated? Can it be remotely activated? Who can listen in?

 

The BPC CCTV system has "An 8 channel recorder is situated within a designated secure cupboard, protected by a separate but dedicated security coded intruder alarm" YET

  • BPC asked for quotes including able to "remote log-in to recordings" (Mar 19 Min 320.27).
  • Does the current CCTV system have remote access?
  • How is the CCTV system recorded on BPC's Risk Assessment Register?

How much has this CCTV cost residents so far?

It seems to have cost around £2,173 to purchase and install (Aug 19 Min 325.20) with an Annual Maintenance of £118 (Oct 19 Agenda Pack Payments List)? There also appears to be an ongoing cost of WIFI as "circumstances have changed now that the CCTV uses WIFI as well ... Resolved: to contribute one-third of the new cost of the WIFI in the Cornonation Hall" (Sept 19 Min 326.21). Also, potential training costs? (June 19 Min 323.12)

 

Who has access to the CCTV?

"Judgements regarding disclosure to third parties (such as system maintenance providers) can only be authorised by the Parish Council, as data controller, with the right to refuse any request for information unless there is an overriding legal obligation, such as a court order or information access rights".

  • The cameras are located on the Youth Club building but why does the Youth Club have access to the recorded footage/images? (June Min 323.12)

What will CCTV be used for?

"Normally, images will be deleted at 14-day intervals which will provide adequate time for any incidents of a criminal nature to have come to light and to have been reported to law enforcement agencies (usually the police) ... It is intended that CCTV images produced on the system will be used by law enforcement agencies alone for their purposes of detecting, investigating and preventing criminal or anti-social behaviour" ,YET

  • in August BPC state,"It was suggested that CCTV should be employed to ‘have a word’ with drivers who come into the car park via the exit." (Aug 19 Min 325.17)

Echo's of Hot Fuzz .....

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