CCTV users have been given a clean bill of health in a report from the data protection regulator – though that regulator has chosen to warn CCTV operators that they must keep to the straight and narrow.
CCTV is popular with most people where it is used as an anti-crime measure helping to deter criminal and anti-social behaviour and catch offenders. Most people also have confidence that public authorities will use the information appropriately. So says the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) report, Public Attitudes to the Deployment of Surveillance Techniques in Public Places. Members of the public who took part in the research identified a number of factors, such as proper security and restrictions on disclosure, as essential to ensure effective regulation of CCTV. These are in line, the ICO says, with its good practice guidance on CCTV and the legally enforceable eight principles under the Data Protection Act that ensure good information handling. Jonathan Bamford, Assistant Information Commissioner, said: “This report shows that CCTV is generally popular with the public. To maintain that popularity and the public’s trust in CCTV, operators need to ensure that cameras are only used for their proper purpose. Many organisations using CCTV, such as large retailers and town centre schemes are processing personal data and therefore, they must comply with the eight principles of the Data Protection Act. CCTV and some other modern surveillance methods may have a useful role to play in modern society, as long as they are used appropriately to protect personal safety and prevent crime.” The Information Commissioner’s Office protects personal information, including video data, but has been quiet for years on CCTV. The reason: ICO has had far more pressing subjects than CCTV on its plate – not least people making money dubiously by masquerading as the ICO, offering to register you at an inflated price, to satisfy the Data Protection Act.
About the ICO
The ICO is an independent body with specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and other legislation. The research, Public attitudes to the deployment of surveillance techniques, is based on work with ten groups of people. The groups were asked for their responses to the example scenarios listed at the back of the report. The research was conducted by Sharpe Research of London. The research can be downloaded.
