Police call for £10m to modernise CCTV on Scotland’s streets
SCOTLAND’S extensive CCTV network is increasingly obsolete and relies on technology such as VHS tape to record images.
A police review recommended a £10million investment in digital equipment to update the system.
The force found that 12 councils did not have an internal audit mechanism ‘to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act’.
The police review proposed a revamped and centrally-coordinated network with high-definition cameras linked to a new police computer system known as i6.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the proposal ‘poses questions about privacy’.
The Scottish Government said its national strategy for public space CCTV ‘facilitates a more strategic approach to CCTV development and management for local partners’.
There are currently about 3,000 cameras in use. But 80 per cent of them rely on analogue technology which is out of date, with spare parts increasingly difficult to obtain. The current and capital expenditure on the cameras is reported to total nearly £30million each year, split between local authorities and the police.
The gathering, control, storing and use of video images is covered by the 1998 Data Protection Act. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has said the misuse of CCTV can cause ‘intrusion into the lives of ordinary people as they go about their day to day business’.
The Police Scotland review said: ‘There have been significant instances where CCTV managers have found themselves in crisis with little continued revenue funding in place to pay for staff, equipment, maintenance etc.’
But the plan to tackle the situation with a national network has drawn fire from civil liberties campaigners. Pol Clementsmith from the Open Rights Group said: ‘This document lays bare some glaring mistakes in an ongoing catalogue of errors whereby Police Scotland and a number of local authorities are potentially breaching data protection laws on a daily basis.
‘The majority of CCTV in Scotland is being used to monitor, record and store our every move – yet our police force doesn’t appear to know if what they are doing is legal or illegal.’
Mr Rennie said: ‘This reports paints a picture of a CCTV monitoring system that is shambolic, ramshackle and in some areas may not even be compliant with basic privacy laws.’
Assistant Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson said the report was an internal document written after the creation of Police Scotland and shared with local police commanders, the Scottish Government and a national CCTV steering group.
He said: ‘The advances that have been made in technology means that an injection of capital funding will be required to update the ageing systems.’
A spokesman said the Scottish Government recognises ‘ the importance of appropriate oversight of CCTV use in Scotland and we are currently considering whether current arrangements are sufficiently robust’.