Feature Surveillance and Government Read more online at www.securitymattersmagazine.com
Clarity of Vision
Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter is due to finish his Commission in the
early part of December having been appointed back in March 2014 to work alongside
the Home Office. In an exclusive article for Security Matters, he duly reflects on the
positive impact of his role, while also examining his own firm belief that the time for
positive and necessary change in the sector is now
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Across the last seven years there
have been many changes witnessed in
terms of how video surveillance cameras
are used. What was once a CCTV
camera recording a grainy image on
video tape is now an HD camera that
can zoom in from hundreds of metres
away and pick out extraordinary levels
of detail. A camera that’s perfectly
capable of recognising faces and
predicting skirmishes. A camera that’s
directly connected to sensors and able to
detect explosives. One that even has the
ability to read lips.
Some of this capability is already
possible, other elements of it not too far
off. Put simply, this particular brand of
surveillance solution or system is no
longer the stuff of science fiction.
At the outset of my Commission, I
spoke publicly on many occasions and
explained that if I didn’t make a tangible
difference to the world of surveillance, I
would not seek to hang around. I’ve
enjoyed several extensions to my terms
in office so, clearly, I do believe that the
Office of the Surveillance Camera
Commissioner has made a positive
impact. What, though, does that impact
look like in the real world?
Implementing the National
Surveillance Camera Strategy for
England and Wales has provided the
framework upon which everything rests.
The development of a full and
independent certification process that
cuts right across the industry from
manufacturers (Secure by Default)
through to installers and on to CCTV
Monitoring Centres and end users has
been vital. The Government wanted
standards to be driven up. We can now
actively demonstrate with absolute
clarity that this is indeed happening.
The National Surveillance Camera
Strategy has also been about civic
engagement, police and local authority
relationships (ie the development of
Service Level Agreements), horizon
scanning, training, cyber security,
standards and the ethics of using
surveillance camera systems.
Further, I was approached by Charlie
Hall QPM (Chief Constable of the
Hertfordshire Constabulary) at the
National Police Chiefs’ Council to chair
the Independent Advisory Group for
Automatic Number Plate Recognition.
This was recognition of the work
transacted by my team. The group
consists of civil libertarians, academics,
Government officials, representatives
from the motor industry and police
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