CCTV For British Pubs

The UK is already the CCTV capital of Europe, possibly the world. Now the surveillance cameras are coming to that most sacred of institutions: the great British pub.

Some pubs have had CCTV cameras for ages – in some areas they’re a necessity to deter trouble. However up to now these have usually been installed at the discretion of the landlord. Now police in parts of England are beginning to demand that pubs install CCTV cameras in order to renew their licences – even when the pub concerned has no history of trouble.

Perhaps more worryingly the landlord must also agree to hand over any footage the police request. The implication is that this will save them the messy business of getting a warrant.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office is concerned about this new trend. The Daily Mail reports deputy Information Commissioner David Smith as saying:

Hardwiring surveillance into pubs raises serious privacy concerns. Installing surveillance in pubs to combat specific problems of rowdiness and bad behaviour may be lawful, but blanket measures where there is no history of criminal activity is likely to breach data protection requirements.

Conservative national security spokesman Crispin Blunt said:

CCTV can be a useful tool against crime and anti-social behaviour but it is no substitute for having a real police presence on our streets.

This Government has sanctioned a massive increase in surveillance over the last decade, at great cost to the taxpayer, without properly assessing either its effectiveness or taking adequate steps to protect the privacy of perfectly innocent people.

Photo Credit: g-hat (Creative Commons)