Feature CHRISTIAN WOLMAR


Words: Christian Wolmar Sub editor: Deborah Maby


I


n the 1990s, I had a bike stolen from a stand in King’s Cross station that was supposedly monitored by CCTV cameras. However, when I reported it and inquired about trying to find out who stole it by going through the footage, I was told it was pointless since the images were not strong enough and, in any case, it would take up too much police time.


That was typical. The CCTV cameras that appeared in increasing numbers on the railway system – and indeed, elsewhere such as town centres – in the 1980s were more of a deterrence than an actual aid to the detection of crime. They were effective in telling criminals they were on camera, but the fact that they were barely monitored and produced images in which the subjects were unrecognisable, limited their usefulness in actually solving crime.


That is all changing. The quality of CCTV cameras is now as good as when you watch Match of the Day and getting better all the time. Moreover, the problem of having sufficient personnel to monitor the cameras is being dealt with by the use of control centres where trained staff are able to access them in large numbers.


The biggest centre on the railways is the remarkable – and slightly unnerving – new communications hub recently brought into full operation by the British Transport Police (BTP) at an apparently secret location ¬– though everyone in the industry and many of my Twitter followers seem to know precisely where it is. Opened in May by Transport Secretary Justine Greening, the centre enables the police to monitor a staggering 33,000 cameras in London and much of the South- East. This includes cameras on trains, though currently these are available only offline rather than in real time.


Searching for evidence is much easier than in the old days. Digitalisation means that the precise time of an event can be swiftly reached, rather than spending hours trawling through tapes. Moreover, images can be enhanced to show more detail, or altered, such as by using pixilation to protect vulnerable witnesses.


This project has not come cheaply and neither was it easy to bring about as there were so many stakeholders. As well as Network Rail, there are 13 train operators involved, including HS1, London Overground and London Underground, not to mention all the franchisees. As a result of the number of players, agreeing funding arrangements needed the Department for Transport (DfT) to come in and break the logjam, spurred on by the imminence of the Olympics. The cost of the centre was £14 million, paid for by Network Rail, the train operators and, principally, the DfT. Operating costs are reckoned to be £800,000 annually, paid for by the BTP and there is no doubt that it is seen as worthwhile.


Interestingly, the BTP has been using Twitter as an adjunct, tweeting CCTV photos with messages along the lines of “Have you seen this man?” to great effect


The hub is, indeed, a step change because not only does it allow access to so many cameras, but it can handle the variety of different formats and systems used by the train operators, ranging from VHS to external hard drives. The co-ordination of these different camera systems will be particularly useful for managing events such as football matches and big concerts, though here the focus will be on crowd control rather than seeking out offenders.


The BTP says there are three purposes behind the use of CCTV and the creation of the hub. Firstly, there is the obvious need to gather evidence in support of investigations where a crime has been committed. Interestingly, the BTP has been using Twitter as an adjunct, tweeting CCTV photos with messages along the lines of “Have you seen this man?” to great effect, so much so, in fact, that social media is becoming an increasingly important tool in its armoury. Secondly, there is a more proactive role when ‘intelligence-led’


observations are carried out on particular locations or individuals, such as stations where pickpockets have been active, in order both to prevent crime and to find the perpetrators.


The hub is tucked well away from any road and seeing its potential at the formal opening for journalists, I was left with the impression that the fabled era of Orwell’s 1984 had now truly arrived. The power of the technology is amazing and effective. Being shown how people’s movements can be traced from camera to camera also brought me in mind of Spooks: when I asked a controller to home in on a specific part of Victoria station, it took only a few seconds to find the right place, and it would have been easy to continue monitoring a particular person, given the huge number of cameras at big stations.


The operators are able to spot suspicious activity such as people hanging around or handing packets to each other, and follow particular individuals, calling on local officers to provide back-up. However, the BTP’s Deputy Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, insists that fears about civil liberties are unfounded: “The railways are a hugely rich CCTV environment and it is right we make best use of the technology. All the monitoring we do is intelligence-led so the average passenger can be reassured that we aren’t watching them. However, if they fall victim to a criminal offence we can use this technology to help identify the offender. Similarly, if we receive information about potential offenders we can, and do, seek to track them while they are on the network. By using CCTV in this way we hope to make the rail network as safe and secure as possible for staff and passengers.”


Mr Crowther is convinced CCTV is a vital tool for modern policing, going on to say that: “CCTV helps us control public space and is an invaluable tool for solving crime. There are hundreds of criminals who have been brought to justice as a result of CCTV evidence and hundreds who have not wasted police or court time and pleaded guilty because CCTV evidence is so compelling.”


Nevertheless, I was left with the impression that there might well be more unease if the public was aware of just how much they are watched and how facilities like the hub make it impossible to take a rail journey without virtually every movement being monitored.


RailCONNECT 23


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