The report points out that: “Loss of privacy through excessive surveillance erodes trust between the individual and the Government and can change the nature of the relationship between citizen and state.” [Summary p5]

The committee recommends that: “The Home Office should ensure that any extension of the use of camera surveillance is justified by evidence of its effectiveness for its intended purpose, and that its function and operation are understood by the public.” [Ground rules for Government p7]. However the report repeatedly references the lack of evidence of the effectiveness of CCTV:

• The Minister of State for Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing, Rt Hon Tony McNulty MP shared this view. He acknowledged a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of camera surveillance in the prevention of crime but was convinced of its value:
  • Can I point to a definitive national study that quantifies in any way its success as a deterrent? No, I cannot [...]
• [Report, paragraph 208]

The report recommends that:

• Under camera surveillance in public spaces, individuals have very little control over whether or not their images and movements are captured and over how they are stored and used. This lack of choice intensifies the obligation on camera operators and regulators to behave responsibly and to deploy surveillance technology only where it is of proven benefit in the fight against crime and where this benefit outweighs any detrimental effect on individual liberty.
• [Report, paragraph 221]

Since the inquiry showed that there is no proven benefit in the fight against crime we believe that local authorities and the police should cease the expansion of CCTV in the UK and begin to remove the existing cameras. This would return some much needed trust into our society, reduce public expenditure and claw back some civil liberties for citizens of the UK.

We contend that better community reduces crime, technology does not.

Read our full press release at http://www.no-cctv.org.uk/press/press_release_3.pdf

Under the authorisation signed last July 4 by Jacqui Smith, video feeds and still images captured from roadside TV cameras, along with personal data derived from them, can be transmitted out of the UK to countries such as the US, that are outside the European Economic Area.

No CCTV has consistently warned that local decisions can have huge implications for the civil liberties of UK citizens. This latest revelation is a stark reminder of the repsonsibility that local politicians and decision makers have.

No CCTV spoke at the meeting and later issued a press release summarising their response to the latest developments. Points raised include:

• The proposed four camera scheme put to the meeting had many similarities with the plan prepared by Optimum Security in November 2006 – most notably all cameras being in line of sight of each other. This would allow people to be tracked all the way along the Cowley Road.
• No mention was made in the progress report of a one year trial of the cameras which was previously agreed as a condition of installation. The councillors therefore delayed their final decision until it was agreed that cameras would only be installed on a trial basis.
• Since our Interim Report into the proposals for CCTV on the Cowley Road was published in November 2007 even more evidence has come to light that shows that CCTV is not an effective crime-fighting tool. Sources of this new evidence include the two ongoing parliamentary inquiries into surveillance in the UK.
• The Progress Report states that there are no safety concerns in relation to the wireless camera technology. The report’s authors base this position on a May 2006 document produced by the World Health Organisation. However, in April 2007 the national press reported serious concerns about wi-fi safety and in May 2007 these concerns were echoed by BBC’s Panorama. Clearly more work is needed to assess the health implications of this technology. In reaching its conclusion, the council is at best guilty of shoddy research.

We urge the East Area Parliament to reject all plans to install CCTV on the Cowley Road.

Read our full press release at www.no-cctv.org.uk/press.

This is a nightmare vision – Bentham’s Panopticon -  HM Prison UK.

It is obvious that cctv in classrooms has nothing to do with protecting children or teachers but everything to do with the national obsession to surveille.