Flashback: Surveillance Cameras Fitted INSIDE People's Homes

Secret CCTV Cameras Fitted INSIDE People's Homes to Spy on Neighbours Outside

November 18, 2009

Daily Mail - Town halls are installing cameras inside suburban homes to spy on the neighbourhood.

The Big Brother tactic - which is allowed under the anti-terrorist Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - is being used by Croydon council in South London to catch those suspected of 'anti-social behaviour'.

The CCTV cameras are placed inside the house of a willing resident, but trained on the street.
If deemed successful, the £1,000 cameras could be installed across the country to catch low-level offenders.

Charles Farrier, of the campaign group No-CCTV, said:

'There is no evidence they act as a deterrent and we should be concentrating on the root problem anyway and working to gel our communities.'

Simon Davies, of Privacy International, said:

'Unless the public are aware of where these cameras are, I believe this council should be taken to court for a breach of human rights.'

Critics say the scheme has echoes of the East German Stasi secret police, which recruited members of the public as spies.

The cameras cannot be seen from the street, and officials have refused to say in which areas they have been installed. Evidence gleaned from the cameras can be used to take people to court.

Croydon councillor Gavin Barwell said:

'We'll be working together with the police to put them to best use.'

But some local residents have backed the idea. Kirenna Chin, 30, said:

‘Louts use my hedge as a bouncy castle and urinate in my front garden. It's very intimidating. ‘It's a fantastic idea to fit hidden CCTV. If they offered me one I would definitely take it.’

Croydon has one of London's most advanced CCTV networks.

The control room is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and there are 77 fixed cameras, a rapid-response mobile unit, and three wireless units.

City Surveillance: Crime Deterrent or Invasion of Privacy?

November 11, 2009

KSL TV 5 (Salt Lake) - High-tech surveillance networks are providing police and government with the ability to monitor streets, parks and businesses like never before. Police in Sandy have such a system and call it a deterrent to crime. Still, others say it's an invasion of privacy.

The skate facility at Lone Peak Park is an outlet for youthful energy. But sometimes it is also the site of problems like bullying, trespassing, and drugs and alcohol. Recently, Sandy City added something new to help keep watch. Cameras installed at a skate park have helped police catch underage drinkers, trespassers and bullies:

"Just extra eyes and ears, like we ask the public to be," explained Sandy police Sgt. Justin Chapman.

Those "eyes" caught a skater taking a beer from his trunk, pouring it into a container and heading off to skate. An officer was called, and the skater was busted. Later, a man was cuffed for interfering with the police interview. The whole scene was captured on tape.

"It gives the opportunity, again, to cover a lot of area rather quickly; to cover spots that may be problematic," Chapman said.

Sandy now covers a quarter of its public spaces with a new state-of-the-art, $400,000, wireless video network. Most of it is paid for by a federal grant.

The cameras are installed in high-traffic locations around the city of Sandy. There are 15 cameras; six of them movable.  

Much of the time, the system is monitored by citizen volunteers like Bill Dunlap, who says more cameras add police presence, limiting crime.

"You take away their anonymity and their ability to do something without being watched," Dunlap said.

Police said the system has helped them solve who was at fault in a car accident, corroborate the whereabouts of a runaway and nab a man who staked out a parking lot at Jordan Commons and stole something from an SUV. An officer arrived to find him hiding behind a car.

"It's a very good workforce multiplier for us to have that many cameras," Chapman said.

Still, watchdog groups worry about the public's right to privacy and wonder if the system, despite assurances, could be abused. Marina Lowe, staff attorney for the ACLU, said she has concerns about profiling, training, how the video is used, and about cameras doing things like tracking perfectly legal protests.

"Americans value their privacy; and while we don't enjoy the same privacy out on the public streets as we do in our own homes, there's a feeling that that's not the way that we live in this country -- to have ‘Big Brother' always following us," Lowe said.

She was surprised by the quality and power of Sandy's cameras, which can zoom in to see people up close. The video can then be saved for two months...