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09.04.09 Blanket CCTV in pubs,The Information Commissioners Office View

A spokesperson for the ICO said:

“Hardwiring surveillance into the UK’s pubs raises serious privacy concerns. We recognise that CCTV plays an important role in the prevention and detection of crime, and can help to reduce crime in areas of high population density, such as city boroughs. However we are concerned at the prospect of landlords being forced into installing CCTV in pubs as a matter of routine in order to meet the terms of a licence.

“The Policing and Crime Bill currently going through Parliament will give the Secretary of State and licensing authorities the power to impose mandatory conditions for licensing. We are concerned that this new power may be used to mandate the installation of CCTV in licensed premises where there has been no history of trouble and where the installation of CCTV is not justified. To date we have not been approached by Government to discuss the provisions of this Bill. We will therefore be raising the framing of this section with the Government.

“Following our intervention, the Drapers Arms in Islington is no longer required to install CCTV. We will now be speaking with the Metropolitan Police about the blanket requirement for licensed premises in certain boroughs to install CCTV surveillance.

“The use of CCTV must be reasonable and proportionate if we are to maintain public trust and confidence in its deployment. Installing surveillance in a particular pub to combat specific problems of rowdiness and bad behaviour may be lawful, but hardwiring in blanket measures across entire areas and including pubs where there has been no history of criminal activity is likely to breach data protection requirements.”