Correspondence

September 2019

Updated 2 September 2021

Welcome to the 7th edition of my newsletter.

Tony Porter

Surveillance Camera Commissioner

scc@sccommissioner.gov.uk

Introduction

In this issue you can read about the Installers, Designers and Manufacturers strand of my national surveillance camera strategy and the judgement on the on the landmark Judicial Review on automated facial recognition (AFR) by the High Court.

You can read about what happened on Surveillance Camera Day and the independent report on the Metropolitan Police Service’s trial of live facial recognition technology.

You can follow links to the most recent blogs, news stories and case studies published on my website.

Also find out which organisations have recently achieved third party certification, as well as video surveillance manufacturers that have demonstrated that their products meet the minimum requirements under the secure by default self-certification scheme.

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 installers, designers and manufacturers strand below.

Installers, designers and manufacturers

The video surveillance camera industry comprises a range of organisations of varying complexity. Many such organisations operate globally from outside the UK. The installers, designers and manufacturers strand helps to co-ordinate and influence industry standards (including cyber security standards) across various stakeholders, thereby engendering public confidence in public space video surveillance. The installers strand is therefore a key strand of work within the framework of the NSCS as follows:

Objective 8 – Organisations involved in the manufacture, planning, design, installation, maintenance and monitoring of surveillance camera systems are able to demonstrate that they understand and follow good and best practice and legal obligations.

This strand is being led by Tim Raynor, Video Surveillance Product Manager, responsible for the product strategy of Johnson Controls in the UK and Ireland. Tim is also the Vice Chair of the Video Surveillance Section of the British Security Industry Association, which brings him into regular contact with a variety of members including consultants, installers, distributors, monitoring centres and manufacturers to discuss both good and best practice of providing video surveillance systems. Tim said:

Having worked in the video surveillance market for a considerable time, I am aware that the use of numerous acronyms and “tech speak” appears very confusing for anyone who is not part of the industry, one of my main aims for the strand is to demystify these terms and to help owners and users understand in plain English what video surveillance systems are, and the numerous benefits that using these systems can provide.

South Wales Police use of facial recognition ruled lawful by the High Court

South Wales Police use of facial recognition ruled lawful by the High Court.

The courts have handed down judgement on the on the landmark Judicial Review on automated facial recognition. The High Court dismissed the claim for judicial review by Ed Bridges, represented by the civil rights group Liberty. Liberty said its client would appeal against the ruling which was the first time any court in the world had presided over the use of facial recognition technology.

Read the full judgement.

What happened on Surveillance Camera Day?

Surveillance Camera Day is a national event to encourage conversation about the use of surveillance cameras in modern society. The inaugural event took place on 20 June 2019. We were not promoting any one message or position on the day. What was most important was to encourage debate about surveillance cameras from anyone who had an interest. We did this by:

• encouraging surveillance camera control centres to throw their ‘doors open’ so that the public could see, first hand, how they operate
• we asked control centres to publish information about how and why they use surveillance cameras – and to publish the basic facts about their systems on a template we had designed
• we encouraged organisations to publish information about surveillance cameras on social media. We issued a media pack, including logos and imagery, to assist with this
• we issued press releases and worked with media outlets to publicise the day
• we blogged and drafted articles in relation to the day
• we launched ‘secure by default’ minimum requirements for manufacturers at the IFSEC International Conference in London

Participating organisations including the police, local authorities, NHS Trusts and private organisations used Surveillance Camera Day to showcase how they operate surveillance camera systems. Some organisations arranged events for members of the public while others organised special sessions for staff.

One of the highlights was the Doors Open – where members of the public nationwide were given access to control rooms to see how they are run to protect communities. People all over the country were able to visit CCTV control rooms to demystify what happens.

Surveillance Camera Day generated a lot of discussion on social media including Twitter and the event was widely covered by the national press. From the police, local authorities, NHS Trusts to private organisations – the day was a huge success.

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 (the Code) – for other organisations adoption of the 12 principles in the Code is voluntary.

The commissioner’s third party certification scheme enables organisations to visibly demonstrate they comply with the code by displaying the commissioner’s certification mark. A list of certified organisations is updated quarterly.

The commissioner offers his congratulations to:

• Mansfield District Council for recently achieving full certification against their use of CCTV cameras and Neighbourhood Wardens Service Body Worn Video
• Athena ANPR Ltd for recently achieving full certification against their use of automated number plate recognition (ANPR)
• Slough Borough Council for recently achieving full certification against their use of CCTV cameras
• CP Plus Trading as Group Nexus for recently achieving desk top certification against their use of Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
• Trafford Borough Council for recently achieving full certification against their use of CCTV cameras
• Dover District Council for recently achieving full certification against their use of CCTV cameras
• Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council for recently achieving full certification against their use of CCTV cameras
• Cheshire East Council (Macclesfield) for recently achieving desk top certification against their use of CCTV cameras

Read details about the scheme and an updated leaflet or you can contact the commissioner’s team for more information.

Raising standards – secure by design, 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.

The commissioner offers his congratulations to the following organisations for demonstrating that their products meet minimum requirements:

• Safe Systems
• Hikvision
• Honeywell
• Bosch
• Axis Communications
• Gentec

Information about the scheme and a list of organisations that have self-certified their products as secure by default and issued with the commissioner’s certification mark are available on the SCC website.

Read the guidance on what criteria products must meet to be considered secure by default.

Complete the self-certification form. Once completed this should be sent to the Surveillance Camera commissioner’s Office.

In the news – recent events, news and publications

News stories and articles:

• Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor, Evening Standard has published an article: Britain could have Big Brother surveillance society worse than George Orwell’s 1984, government watchdog warns

Tony Porter, the government’s surveillance camera commissioner, said that people could be left “cupping hands over their mouths” to keep conversations private if nothing was done to control the use of new technology.
He emphasised that new surveillance technology could offer important benefits, including the capability to predict fights or detect explosives. He was also optimistic that ministers were aware of the need to update legislation.

Read the full article.

• Dan Sabbagh, The Guardian has published an article: Facial recognition technology scrapped at King’s Cross site

Daragh Murray, a senior lecturer in human rights law at the University of Essex, said it was reassuring that the developer had abandoned the technology “in the light of the public outcry”, but he added: “This also serves to highlight the lack of transparency. We still don’t really know what they were doing with the technology and how they were able to get away with using it for so long without the public knowing.”

Commissioner’s case studies:

This case study looks at how police forces in the Midlands set up a regional group to help forces to meet their responsibilities arising from section 33 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.

Read the case study.

Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s blogs:

The State of Surveillance

In the blog, the commissioner explores the future of surveillance, supports the police harnessing technology to keep us safe and makes the case for the public to be better informed and for law enforcement authorities to be accountable while acting within legal and ethical boundaries.

Read the commissioner’s blog.

The Science and Technology Committee report published.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee expressed concern in its report regarding the current state of the government’s approach to biometrics and forensics.

On facial recognition, the report highlights growing evidence from respected, independent bodies that the lack of legislation surrounding the use of automatic facial recognition has called the legal basis of the trials into question. The Surveillance Camera Commissioner made written submissions to the inquiry, predominately focussed on the use of automatic (live) facial recognition technology.

Read the full report.

London Policing Ethics Panel final report on Live Facial Recognition (LFR)

The London Policing Ethics Panel has published a final report on the Metropolitan Police Service’s use of Live Facial Recognition (PDF, 381 KB). In this report they:

• report the views of Londoners on use of Live Facial Recognition, as gathered through their survey
• propose an ethical framework to adopt in future police technology trials
• set out conditions the Panel views as reasonable to attach to adoption of LFR in policing operations
• share an ethical thought-experiment exploring the implications of increased police surveillance

Independent Report on the London Metropolitan Police Service’s Trial of Live Facial Recognition Technology

Authors: Professor Pete Fussey & Dr Daragh Murray

Between 2016 and 2019 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) conducted a total of 10 test deployments, trialling live facial recognition (LFR) technology during policing operations. This research was initiated in order to provide an independent academic report on this process.

The report (PDF, 2MB) centres on the overall governance of the LFR test deployments, the procedures and practices of LFR in operational settings (as observed over the course of the test deployments), and human rights compliance.

The report is independent, was externally funded as part of the ESRC Human Rights, Big Data & Technology

Project, and the findings and opinions expressed are those of the authors alone.

ANPR Independent Advisory Group meeting minutes 26 March 2019

The ANPR Independent Advisory Group (ANPR IAG) has been established to scrutinise the deployment and operation of automatic number plate recognition as a surveillance tool. It comprises specialist external interests as well as the police, Information Commissioner’s Office and the Home Office.

Read the minutes of the meeting on 26 March 2019 on the SCC governance webpage.

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