CCTV: YOUR SECURITY WREXHAM CCTV PLANS PLACED ON HOLD
Plans to make CCTV in taxis compulsory in Wrexham have been placed on hold amid concerns about the legal risks. Backbench politi- cians have previously expressed their de- sire for cameras to become mandatory. There is currently voluntary CCTV in 100 out of the more than 500 taxis and PHVs in the area. Members of
the
licensing committee said
compulsory
CCTV would help when considering evidence about a cab
driver’s conduct and asked officers to look into the possibility. However, after dis- cussing the options with other authori- ties,
licensing of-
ficials said it would place the council at risk of punishment from the Information Commi s s ion e r ’ s Office (ICO). Joss Thomas, licens- ing team leader, said: “Only five authorities in England have applied mandatory CCTV and those have faced a legal chal- lenge from the ICO. “Problems
arose
about the legality of mandatory record- ing, as by doing so the authority makes itself data controller and therefore has strict legal obliga- tions with storage and retention of data. “The ICO published an article in 2018 where it described continuous CCTV recording as almost always un-lawful.” Mr Thomas said the Welsh Government and DfT were con- sulting on a new framework for taxi licensing, which will explore CCTV. He
CCTV CAMERAS TO BE INSTALLED IN TAXIS AND PHVS IN SOUTH LANARKS
A pilot to trial CCTV in taxis and PHVs in South Lanarkshire will go ahead des- pite calls to delay it. According to the Daily Record, the council’s licensing committee is to start the trial which will see CCTV installed in taxis in Hamilton and both taxis and PHVs in East Kil- bride. Concerns had been raised by councillors about the lack of audio recording in the proposals, which are for video-only CCTV. Cllr Martin Lennon tabled an amend- ment to delay the pilot until clarifica- tion was sought about the legality of including audio re- cording from the Information Com- missioner (ICO). The pilot scheme proposed that the
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possibility of sound recording, which can be switched on in the event of a particular incident, be investi- gated. Cllr David Shearer asked the committee if they would like clarity from the ICO about audio record- ing in the pilot and they agreed to write to the Commissioner. Cllr Lennon’s am- endment proposed to wait until after this cor respondence before a decision was made; however it was defeated. Concerns were also raised by Cllr Katy Loudon about who would be the data controller for the pilot period with regard to the intro- duction of GDPR last year. Gerry Mays, council solicitor,
clarified
that the taxi firms themselves would be
data controller dur- ing the pilot but that the council would take this responsibili- ty on if the pilot became a compulso- ry condition on taxis and PHVs. Mmmm… We would refer PHTM readers to the comment from Dave Lawrie of Safe Systems in the Wrex- ham story above. He also confirms that the ICO does indeed confirm that in cases where CCTV has been made manda- tory,
the local
authority assumes the role of data con- troller; this is no great issue since the local authority is already a registered data controller any- way, and a data protection impact assessment
report
check sheet must be carried out before making the stipula- tion. – Ed.
added that it would be wise to wait the outcome of the con- sultations
before
moving forward with the plans. The majority of councillors voted in favour of putting the proposals on hold; however, they stres- sed the importance of
keeping the
option open. Mmmm… As is often the case, a council licensing committee has been provided with inaccurate infor- mation with which to make an important decision affecting
licence holders. Dave Lawrie of Safe Sys- tems advises Wrex- ham: “You refer to there only being five local
authorities
which have made ‘CCTV’ (not dash- cams) mandatory. This is not the case: there are ap-proxi- mately 30+ councils now that have done this. [Your report] also refers to ‘all of which have had action taken against them by the ICO’; this is not the case either. Only two have had action taken against them: Warrington
regarding the lack of an override switch (the right to a private life when not work- ing); and South- ampton for the lack of an ‘audio panic switch’. Indeed the ICO recognises the benefits and advan- tages of having CCTV in licensed vehicles. It merely identifies the problems with dash- cams: no way to add an audio panic switch; the device is portable and therefore easily stolen; the data is not encrypted and there- fore is easily ac- cessible by anybody.”
DRIVERS SAY CCTV CUTS VIOLENCE AND FARE DODGING IN EAST RIDING
CCTV and dashcams in taxis are helping to cut violence and fare dodging, say East Riding cabbies. According to the Hull Daily Mail, a vol- untary scheme in the East Riding has seen 199 of the 328 licensed vehicles kit- ted out with CCTV and dash cam sys- tems. East Riding Council is now hoping to have all
licensed
vehicles equipped with CCTV within a year. The voluntary CCTV scheme has been well received by drivers and pas- sengers. Paul Bellotti, direc- tor of communities and environment, says in a report: “Feedback
from
drivers has indicated that they feel there has been a reduction in violent incidents and non-payment of
fares. Anecdotal feedback from pas- sengers confirmed that they felt safer when there was a camera installed. “In addition, footage has been used by the police and licensing authority in investigations play- ing a key role in determining no fault in taxi driver acci- dents as well as rebutting false alle- gations made by passengers against drivers.” The council decided in 2016 to introduce a pilot CCTV scheme. Councillors will be told consultation will be required in order to make CCTV a mandatory quirement
re- in all
licensed vehicles but it is hoped to have all fitted by April 2020 at the latest. Mmmm…This
every positive bene- fit of
solid-state CCTV.
installing It
item highlights absolutely
is also worth bearing in mind that these systems are indeed transferrable; this is a service one supplier provides for a nomi- nal fee on a regular basis, either as a result of accident damage, or the vehi- cle being replaced due to a council’s age restrictions. They remove the system from the old vehicle, put it into storage (for as long as neces- sary, boxed up with their name and old reg number), refit it into the new vehicle, reprogramme the device to show the new vehicle, re-issue a certificate of in- stallation, and then send a new confir- mation email to the relevant authority. Contact PHTM for details – Ed.
MAY 2019
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