GOV.UK
The State of Surveillance
The way overt surveillance cameras are being used is changing. Should there be an independent review looking at how they are used?
Surveillance cameras
How effective are Video Surveillance Systems (VSS)?
Video Surveillance Systems are operated by most Local Authorities in England and Wales and are intrinsically linked with operational policing to protect the public and ensure their safety. So how effective are they and is the cost of installing and operating those systems really worth it?
Driving Ethics Forward: The Importance of Considering the Ethics of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
Hello, my name is Dr Rachel Adams and I’m an Early Career Researcher with the Information Law and Policy Centre, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, University of London. I’m also a member of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition Independent …
Working together on automatic facial recognition
Regular readers of my blog will know that the Home Office published their Biometric Strategy in June and in doing so established a new board (which I sit on) to develop that strategy. A key challenge for me in participating …
Raising standards through my certification scheme
There’s been a lot of focus recently in the press about the potential mass intrusion of surveillance cameras and I’ve recently blogged myself about CCTV in taxis and the use of automatic facial recognition technology. These are big ticket items …
An ethical approach to Automated Facial Recognition
Regulars to my blog will know that my regulatory role in the context of surveillance camera systems extends to the overt use of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology by the police and local authorities. Over the past few years South …
Disclosure: the importance of complying with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.
The Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (the Code) is prepared by the Secretary of State by virtue of Section 29(1) Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Its purpose being to drive up standards in the operation of surveillance camera systems in …
Buyers Toolkit now available on SCC’s website
Alastair Thomas here! Following user testing and stakeholder consultation, we are delighted to announce that the Buyers Toolkit guidance is now available for download from the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s website. The feedback received by the project team helped to fine …
Memorandum of Understanding between the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the Forensic Science Regulator
As evolving surveillance technologies continue to present both opportunities and challenges for society, regulators have an ever more critical role to play in ensuring that appropriate legal and ethical standards exist, supported by guidance where necessary to govern their use …
When can you expect to see the SCC’s Buyers Toolkit?
Alastair Thomas here! I am the project manager responsible for delivery of the Buyers Toolkit (BTK). This work is being progressed as part of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s National Surveillance Camera Strategy. It is being provided to assist small and …