Revised ANPR deployment gets ICO approval

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has given the thumbs up to Hertfordshire Constabulary’s revised placement of automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras after ruling in 2013 that their use in Royston was excessive and unjustifiable.

The ICO has issued an updated statement over its decision to serve an enforcement notice to Hertfordshire Constabulary over the force’s extensive use of cameras which captured every movement in and out of the town.

An ICO spokesperson said: “Since this time we have been working with the constabulary to make sure the force’s use of ANPR cameras is proportionate to the problem it is trying to address. This is a key legal requirement under the Data Protection Act.

“We are pleased that this work has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of cameras in Royston, which means that residents can now drive into and out of the town without details of all of their car journeys being recorded.

“This case should send a clear message to all forces that the use of surveillance cameras must be proportionate to the problem they are trying to resolve. It also highlights the need for organisations to carry out an effective privacy impact assessment to identify the privacy risks and to determine whether the collection and processing of large volumes of personal information in this way is justified and in accordance with the law.”

Five of the seven ANPR cameras installed on the A10 and the A505 in Royston have been turned off.

The enforcement notice was issued following a complaint from privacy groups last year about the so-called ‘ring of steel’.

In its July 2013 review, the ICO found that the constabulary failed to carry out any effective impact assessments before introducing the system of cameras making the use of the cameras disproportionate, a ruling affecting implementation across the country.

Hertfordshire Constabulary’s reaction to the initial notice, which included a review of its ANPR deployment policy, was featured in Police Professional (PP380).

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said the force has engaged fully with the Information Commissioner on the objectives to use ANPR cameras to deliver substantial policing benefits for Hertfordshire while also ensuring that their obligation that they should be used only on justifiable and proportionate grounds in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights was fulfilled.

“While ANPR is a valuable crime-fighting asset, it is just one of the many tools and tactics that Hertfordshire Constabulary use to fight crime that has helped deliver sustained crime reductions in the county over the past ten years,” they added.