June 2020
Updated 2 September 2021
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Welcome to the 9th edition of my newsletter.
Tony Porter
Surveillance Camera Commissioner
As I approach the end of my six-year commission I am keen to thank the surveillance camera community for your engagement and support. Over the years, surveillance has changed and continues to change. Together we have laid the foundation to ensure progress and raise standards across the entire surveillance camera industry.
To meet future challenges, we will need to develop innovative methods to keep us safe as well as clear and robust oversight to ensure surveillance cameras are deployed proportionately.
I am confident that you will support my successor (yet to be announced) by working together to minimise the new challenges created by the pandemic, and the evolving threats facing society from new augmented technologies with intrusive capabilities.
I hope you find what’s in this edition useful. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested and they can subscribe to receive the newsletter themselves by completing a short online form.
In focus – National Surveillance Camera Strategy
The National Surveillance Camera Strategy (NSCS) provides direction and leadership in the surveillance camera community to enable system operators to understand and use best and good practice and be aware of their legal obligations. The strategy is divided into 11 work strands, each led by sector expert who have developed plans for each strand to deliver the strategic vision. You can read about the Critical National Infrastructure strand below.
Critical National Infrastructure
Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) is the government authority responsible for protective security advice to the UK national infrastructure. The Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) strand supports the promulgation of the strategy across the critical national infrastructure through a variety of methods including training materials, bespoke briefs and Infographics to advise CNI managers on the SC Code.
CNI is a key part of the strategy as follows:
“Objective 7 – Surveillance camera systems associated with protection of critical national infrastructure are operated in compliance with the SC Code.”
CPNI said:
CPNI assists sites to check that any surveillance camera system across the CNI is fit for purpose, lawful and has a clear rational for deployment. CPNI works to support the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice and assists CNI in implementing the code across secure sites, driving up the quality of their video surveillance systems. CNI sites are some of the most important sites across the UK and, as such, ensuring that they have high quality surveillance camera systems keeps the UK running.
National Surveillance Camera Strategy Objectives 2020 to 2023
I recently refreshed the objectives of my National Surveillance Camera Strategy to drive the strategy forward for the next three years. The objectives reflect the changes expected in surveillance.
The stretch objectives of the 11 individual work strands aim to raise standards across the entire surveillance camera industry.
Parliamentary questions on the role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner
David Davis raised the issue of the future of the role of Surveillance Camera Commissioner with the Home Secretary.
Response to the Parliamentary questions
Working Group on Video Surveillance System outputs
Under the standards strand (led by Alex Carmichael – SSAIB) of the NSCS, a working group has been established to look at the issue of numerous (around 40,000) video surveillance system outputs/formats and the problems that can cause the police (and others) when trying to retrieve, process and present them. This is an issue that has been raised before and the group which is made up of people from the industry, police, local authorities and government are establishing a set of proposed requirements before bringing on board manufacturers to look at the possibility of a more standardised approach to formats and outputs that will benefit both manufacturers and the police.
Raising standards – Third Party certification scheme
Under the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, police forces and local authorities must pay due regard to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (SC Code) – for other organisations adoption of the 12 principles in the code is voluntary.
My third-party certification scheme enables organisations to visibly demonstrate they comply with the Code by displaying my certification mark. A list of certified organisations is also displayed on the SCC website and updated quarterly.
Congratulations to all that have received the certification mark in the last quarter. Details about the scheme are available on the SCC website or you can contact the Commissioner’s team for more information.
Raising standards – Secure by default self-certification scheme
Secure by default: self-certification of video surveillance systems (VSSs).
Self-certification allows manufacturers of surveillance camera devices and components to clearly demonstrate that their products meet minimum requirements to ensure that they are secure by default and secure by design. It will mean that the UK’s resilience against cyber security attacks via VSSs is higher. The new requirements are an important step forward for manufacturers, installers and users alike in providing the best possible assurance for stakeholders that products aren’t vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Congratulations to all the organisations who’ve been issued the mark in the last quarter. A list of organisations is also displayed on the SCC website and updated monthly.
In the news – events, news and publications
News stories and articles:
- The use of CCTV during homicide investigations: contributions, challenges and risks
Professor Fiona Brookman, Dr Helen Jones, Professor Robin Williams and Professor Jim Fraser have published a research paper on the use of CCTV in homicide investigations.
The report outlines the project aims and methods, before focusing specifically on the contributions, challenges and risks associated with using CCTV in homicide investigations.
- Gareth Corfield, a reporter for the Register has published an article: Nine million logs of Brits’ road journeys spill onto the internet from password-less number-plate camera dashboard.
Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s blogs:
- Surveillance and COVID-19: Lessons to be learnt
In this blog I reflect on how surveillance is being used during the COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons could be learnt for the future of overt surveillance.
- A farewell - looking back to the future (part 2)
In this blog I look back on the National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales, the achievements of the surveillance camera stakeholder community in raising standards and what the future might hold.
Commissioner’s case studies:
This case study looks at how Thanet District Council became the first local authority to achieve the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s third party certification mark for CCTV, body worn video (BWV) and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) surveillance cameras.
If you did not receive this newsletter directly, you can register to receive future editions by completing a short online form.
Tony Porter
Surveillance Camera Commissioner