UK: Police Gain Data Protection Exemption for London Surveillance
Police in London have been granted exemption from the Data Protection Act to track the city's motorists. The Home Office has granted The Metropolitan Police full, real time access to surveillance footage from London's congestion system cameras.More here.
In order to operate the congestion charge which operates in central London there is a ring of cameras in the city centre fitted with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology.
Police were previously able to request specific footage from those cameras for reasons of national security. The Home Office has just said that police can monitor that footage and vehicle movement in real time without their activities being subject to the Data Protection Act (DPA).
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has signed a certificate of exemption from the DPA that allows congestion system operator Transport for London (TfL) to pass data on to the police as long as it is for the protection of national security. The Act contains provisions for exemptions for the safeguarding of national security.
posted by Fergie @ 7/18/2007 11:11:00 AM
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