Surveillance camera code of practice consultation

A Home Office consultation is seeking views on the scope and clarity of a surveillance draft code of practice and its likely impact.

Since the first town centre CCTV system was installed in King’s Lynn in 1987, there has been a proliferation in the use of CCTV and automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) systems operated in public places by both public and private bodies.

Technological developments have increased the capability of surveillance camera systems which has, in turn, increased concerns over privacy.

The Home Office said: “The public must have confidence that surveillance is appropriate and proportionate and that those who operate the camera systems, or use the images and information they capture, demonstrate integrity and can be held to account. This is why the coalition agreement for government includes a commitment to the further regulation of CCTV, which has now been enacted in legislation through the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.”

This legislation provides a regulatory framework that complements existing legislation, such as the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The Home Office added that any new regulation must be “appropriate both now and in the future”.
For the first time the draft code introduces surveillance by consent.

The consultation will run until March 21, 2013.