does this camera look familiar…read on for what is planned here
follow the rules, and remember it is still about the money ….we do not say what you did wrong we just take your money for it
perhaps it is time to tax the federal reserve, then we could have more than an accounting of how the money has been given away
http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/
A startling comparison
Last week Alex wrote about a CCTV camera situated above the tube stop at Clapham South that had caught so many motorists dropping off passengers outside the station – fining them £100 a time – that if the rate continued, Wandsworth Council were likely to rake-in around £1 million by the end of the year.
Which makes today’s revelations in the Evening Standard about a camera trained on a street in Westminster doubly startling:
Westminster council has collected £840,000 in a month from drivers who say they were caught by a CCTV camera put up without clear warnings.
More than 7,000 were fined £120 for driving down a street closed for work at the junction between Vauxhall Bridge Road and Wilton Road. TfL said warnings had gone up a month before.
The story Alex covered – £1 million in 12 months – ended up going across the media, being reported in at least three national newspapers and on the BBC. So one can only imagine what people are going to think of a camera making a council over £800,000 in just one month!
Due to its proximity to the Big Brother Watch HQ, we will be conducting an excursion to the offending camera this afternoon – exclusive pictures will be on the blog later!
By Dylan Sharpe
Posted at 01:24 PM in CCTV | Permalink | Comments (4)
They say “more police” – they mean “more CCTV”
Last week, Marcin Bilaszewski, 19, was fatally stabbed at Finsbury Park trying to protect his girlfriend after she was viciously attacked. In response Islington’s new Labour council leader, Catherine West, has vowed to have more police in knife crime “hotspots”. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But read on in the report in the Islington Gazette and you’ll swiftly see what she means.
Time and time again, officials conjure up a headline of ‘more bobbies on the beat’ – and then their real intentions become clear. Councillor West: “We’ve got to make the hotspots safer with more lighting and CCTV.” A-ha…
This, despite the fact that when the “burkha bandit” struck for the third time, CCTV did not prevent and in all likelihood will not solve the crime.
West is adamant that ‘more surveillance’ is needed and has ordered an “immediate review” to target the use of CCTV across the borough. But she’s not alone. The other day Boris Johnson showed Michael Bloomberg London’s unparalleled CCTV network and Wandsworth councils camera’s continued to bring home the bacon.
Recently, Dylan reminded us of the myriad failings of CCTV. Its a shame Catherine West hasn’t read it. We need this government to end frivolous spending on a ‘preventative’ measure that just does not work.
By James Stannard
Posted at 12:18 PM in CCTV | Permalink | Comments (0)
Microphones on street corners – just in case
Let’s be clear. I am against gun crime. Big Brother Watch is against gun crime. I’m sure that all of us are against gun crime.
But is it really proportionate to place triangulated systems of microphones around city centres, on the off-chance that they can catch the sound of gunshots and work out where they came from?
That’s what seemed to be planned for Birmingham.
Were privacy considerations even mentioned in the planning of this..?!
By Alex Deane
Twitter Updates
CCTV camera in Wandsworth collects £1m in a year…CCTV camera in Westminster collects £850k in ONE MONTH! -http://bit.ly/bKu3Rm 2 days ago
After a tragic murder the council pledges “more police” – http://bit.ly/cbq7Oe – But they mean “more CCTV”. One stops crimes, the other…? 2 days ago
@pauljchambers – could you drop us a line at info(at)bigbrotherwatch.org.uk. We have had an idea we’d like to share with you! 2 days ago
and the newletter…New york mayor inspects camera system
The confused logic of CCTV advocates is once again demonstrated by the fact that London and New York have a very similar number of crimes committed each year, yet New York has a third of the number of CCTV cameras on its ‘transit system’. Similarly, the anti-terror excuse might sound great compelling until one realises that 7/7 occurred despite London’s ubiquitous CCTV coverage.
If the US wants to learn a lesson from Britain, it’s that spending our money snooping on every conceivable public space is intrusive, wasteful, and does very little to deter criminals.
Big Brother Watch Newsletter – 14th May 2010
So Britain has a new government and – fortunately for those who care about privacy and freedom campaigners – it is formed by two parties who have stated their commitment to restoring civil liberties in the UK. The relevant sub-section in the coalition government document – read the full list here – is encouraging but, as Alex wrote on Wednesday, should be seen as no more than a good start.
A new government means a new challenge and new opportunities. Our previous administration seemed to care little for personal privacy and freedom; if we are to make sure our new political leaders stick to their promises and don’t diverge from the goal of rolling back the surveillance state, we must work even harder to push our agenda and we need your help every step of the way. The full list of ways to help Big Brother Watch is located at the bottom of this newsletter and as ever your support is greatly appreciated.
A very bad example
A few months ago we wrote about the United States using Britain’s National DNA database as an unlikely paradigm for their own proposed database. This week America’s unhealthy interest in Britain’s surveillance state went one step further, when New York’s Mayor Bloomberg crossed the pond to inspect London’s CCTV network.
The confused logic of CCTV advocates is once again demonstrated by the fact that London and New York have a very similar number of crimes committed each year, yet New York has a third of the number of CCTV cameras on its ‘transit system’. Similarly, the anti-terror excuse might sound great compelling until one realises that 7/7 occurred despite London’s ubiquitous CCTV coverage.
If the US wants to learn a lesson from Britain, it’s that spending our money snooping on every conceivable public space is intrusive, wasteful, and does very little to deter criminals.
Blogs of the week
In Scunthorpe, the tail is wagging the alcoholic dog – North Lincolnshire Police float the idea of forcing over 18s to carry a card proving their age. One ID card dies…another is born.
I am going to blow up Robin Hood Airport – A man that (somewhat rashly) joked about blowing-up Nottingham Airport on Twitter is fined £1000. So will this blogpost be subject to a similarly ridiculous overreaction?
Every photocopy stored, ready for download – A must-watch video from CBS about the privacy implications of old photocopiers.
Media CoverageBig Brother Watch – Civil Liberties Erosion UK And USA
Colourful Radio – Alex Deane interviewed on civil liberties in the new coalition
Alex Deane speaks to Oxford Union: “This House Believes That Civil Liberties should always come before Public Security, even when confronting International Terrorism.â€
Alex Deane interviewed about civil liberties in Britain on Talk Radio Europe
Smooth Radio – Alex Deane interviewed about Mayor Bloomberg’s visit to London to inspect London Underground CCTV
Pulse – NHS ‘scaring patients’ over electronic records
BBC Radio Sussex – Dylan Sharpe interviewed by Danny Pike
Daily Telegraph – NHS ‘scaring patients into accepting electronic records database’
Yesterday the Big Brother Watch lobby group accused Connecting for Health of overstating the risk to patients if they opt out of the system, after a Department of Health spokesman said the problem of lost paper records was not “significant” as the agency claimed.
Dylan Sharpe, the Big Brother Watch campaign director, told the Daily Mail: “If you value your privacy ignore these false and misleading warnings and opt out.”
Mail on Sunday – The patients ‘bullied’ into joining NHS database
Dylan Sharpe, campaign director of Big Brother Watch, said: ‘The whole handling of the summary care record system has been sneaky and underhand, with the government doing anything to prevent people from opting out of the system.
‘If you value your privacy, ignore these false and misleading warnings and opt out.’
The Scotsman – Dani Garavelli: Just the style that’s criminal
Ways to help Big Brother Watch
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