Surveillance Camera Commissioner contract extended
The Home Office has extended Tony Porter’s contract for a further 3 years.
Mr Porter, who previously held roles in business and law enforcement, including as Temporary Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police and Vice President Head of Physical Security Intelligence at Barclays Bank, took up the role as Surveillance Camera Commissioner in March 2014.
He was originally appointed for a 3 year term ending on 10 March 2017. The Home Secretary and Permanent Secretary have now extended Mr Porter’s term from 3 to 6 years with his contract now expiring on 10 March 2020.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:
The role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner in providing oversight and compliance with the surveillance code of practice is a vital one in our modern society.
Tony has done an excellent job over the last three years and I am pleased to be able to extend his contract to allow him to continue his important work through to 2020.
Mr Porter said:
I’m delighted to have my commission extended for a further 3 years. With the help of my advisory council and many others I’ve been able to raise standards across surveillance camera users and protect individuals’ right to privacy through tools such as self-assessment and third party certification. There’s still much important work to do though and I’ll be launching my national surveillance camera strategy for England and Wales later in the year setting out my vision up until 2020.
The commissioner is responsible for:
- encouraging compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice
- providing advice on the effective, appropriate, proportionate and transparent use of surveillance camera systems
- providing advice on operational and technical standards
- reviewing how the code of practice is working and advising the government where any changes may be necessary
Mr Porter joined Greater Manchester Police in 1982 and went on to hold numerous senior policing roles including command of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit and Temporary Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police.
He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2008 for distinguished service to policing.