What the new National CCTV Strategy means for security professionals

18 Dec 07

No less than 44 specific recommendations are proposed encompassing standards, inspection, training and police use of CCTV (to name but a few areas for suggested review). Brian Sims picks out the salient points for practising security professionals.

The UK is widely recognised as a leading ‘end user’ of CCTV for crime deterrence, investigation and community safety monitoring. By and large, its deployment enjoys public support. However, although our current infrastructure is sound, there’s an underlying feeling it could be far better if more effective co-ordination measures were in place.

To its credit, the Government has invested heavily in local authority-run surveillance schemes. Most town centres enjoy the benefit of substantial camera coverage, which has played a major role in helping the police to spot – and bring to prosecution – those involved in acts of criminality and terrorism.

That said, many observers would agree that CCTV systems have been developed in a piecemeal fashion. There has been relatively little action in terms of strategic direction and regulation. For some time, there has been a definitive need to seriously examine the standards that do exist, so too the procedures that go hand-in-hand with them, aspects of training and methods of operation.

Of late, local authorities, the police service and Criminal Justice agencies have faced the challenges involved with switching from VHS to digital recording. That is one area alone where the lack of a co-ordinated approach has posed significant risks in relation to system compatibility and potential downgrading of operational effectiveness.

In late 2005, a detailed report was submitted by the Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) CCTV/Video Working Group to the Home Office recommending that a National CCTV Strategy had to be formulated by way of ensuring the effective ongoing development of our public space CCTV infrastructure.

Subsequently, a small joint ACPO/Home Office Project Team – including Graeme Gerrard, Garry Parkins, Ian Cunningham, Wayne Jones, Samantha Hill and Sarah Douglas, ably supported by a range of Stakeholders embroiled in the use and management of CCTV – was commissioned to study surveillance in the UK and make salient suggestions as to its future direction and possible improvement.

National CCTV Strategy Report

That Project Team’s findings have just been published in the eagerly-anticipated, 54-page National CCTV Strategy Report (issued on 19 October by The Home Office). The document is based on no less than ten themes, examining the need for standards in all aspects of CCTV, the requirement for clear guidelines on registration, inspection and enforcement and the proper training of all personnel, the police service’s use of CCTV footage and evidence and storage/volume/archiving issues.

The document also reviews the need for CCTV networks (both live and stored), standardisation within the Criminal Justice System, emerging technologies and changing threats, partnership working and financial and resource management.

There was no statutory basis for the systematic legal control of CCTV surveillance over public areas until 1 March 2000 (the date when the Data Protection Act 1998 was enforced). There remains no statutory or legal obstacle to installing a CCTV camera or system. Anyone can do so, provided they meet the requirements of the Act.

Ultimately, the Project Team found there is a need for “clear and transparent standards” in every aspect of CCTV provision. Incompatible systems have led to the police employing specialist technical staff to recover and process digital footage. Proprietary formats are difficult for the Criminal Justice System to handle. Picture quality varies considerably. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch guidance documentation has been found to be “fairly dated and difficult to read” (it’s under review).

The National CCTV Strategy Report suggests that one way to establish digital CCTV standards would be for Stakeholders to agree on a standard digital video format. Stakeholders should also become more involved in setting standards. The location and purpose of all CCTV cameras ought to be reviewed to make sure they are ‘fit for purpose’. There’s also mention of a Governance Body being formed to make certain there’s a balance between cameras deployed for police and crime issues and other uses.

Interestingly, the Report recommends extending the remit of town centre CCTV to monitor railways, Underground stations and, where possible, on-board CCTV from buses, Underground and overground train carriages, so too shopping centres and sports stadiums. In turn, this would create “a hub for public space CCTV” to be co-ordinated by partnerships at a local authority level.

Inspection and enforcement

A number of issues pertaining to registration, inspection and enforcement of CCTV schemes were highlighted during the Stakeholder consultation phase. Lack of direction in respect of system registration and the provision of new or existing systems is one of them. The Data Protection Act doesn’t require CCTV systems to be registered. The Report states: “This is considered to be at the heart of all problems associated with the extent of provision, the types of technology across the piece and the regulation of schemes more generally.”

No effective systems for the registration of CCTV are in place. Many cameras are poorly maintained. Many local authorities are failing to link CCTV into their own general planning considerations. Procurement processes have been found to be piecemeal, and compounded by “inadequate direction or management”.

There’s no central register of CCTV systems nationwide, while the Information Commissioner regulates how personal data is processed but not the cameras themselves – many believe this situation is inadequate. There is little enforcement to ensure that standards are being complied with in any case.

The National CCTV Strategy Report recommends the role of the Information Commissioner needs to include greater powers to enforce licensing requirements of both systems and people. The Home Office ought to be considering the development of more legislative powers to inspect CCTV systems. Is there a need for any new legislation to tackle invasion of privacy with regard to both public and private space CCTV? It’s a grey area.

A system of registration is most certainly needed. A step towards this would be the creation of a national database listing all schemes and providing information such as location of cameras, their coverage, their intended purpose, equipment specifications and owners’ details, etc. Above all else, a mechanism must be developed to allow the enforcement of CCTV standards.

In relation to training

The increasing use of digital CCTV changed what was once a fairly simple task – swapping over analogue tapes – into one of greater complexity that requires technical knowledge, skill and understanding. Therefore, standards of training and associated procedures must be complementary.

Pulling no punches, the Report states: “There is inadequate training in place for all staff engaged with CCTV. There are currently no uniform training standards that apply to all. It has been identified that the proper training for all users of CCTV is crucial to its successful deployment and effective use.” This lack of instruction also means that certain systems and software applications within Control Rooms are seldom – if ever – used. Police officers receive no formal training in relation to CCTV, despite the fact they deal with footage and Control Rooms on a regular basis.

During the research, it was pointed out that town centre scheme managers don’t always arrive from a CCTV background. As a result, they may not be aware of specific training issues and needs, leading to disparities between Control Rooms.

In respect of operator licensing, the Project Team suggests a need for further clarification from the Security Industry Authority as to the requirements and how far the remit extends. “There should be a full and comprehensive list of those roles that are not covered by the licensing requirements, and consideration given as to how they might be addressed. In the short term, it’s advisable to encourage CCTV schemes to extend the Regulator’s licensing requirements to all those working in the CCTV environment as an example of good practice.”

The recommendation is that the National CCTV Strategy Project Team works closely with the ACPO CCTV Training Working Group, which is now looking at developing a training programme in conjunction with Skills for Security, Skills for Justice and Stakeholders including the police service and town centre CCTV managers.

“The end result should be a training strategy that can be adopted as part of the wider CCTV strategy”. There is also now talk of a National Forum being set up to discuss training issues.

Police use of CCTV

While presenting the police service with evidence gathering opportunities, the proliferation of CCTV systems has raised issues in terms of their capacity to recover images and review them to establish whether or not evidence is there. Seemingly, the development of digital technology has outpaced the ability of the police to respond to operational opportunities. The suggestion is that the police service needs to fundamentally review its entire approach to CCTV.

Performance standards similar to those that support other forms of crime scene evidence should be developed in relation to CCTV recovery and analysis. Similarly, research needs to be carried out to determine the relative benefits of fingerprinting and DNA capture in comparison with CCTV.

An excellent suggestion is that a cadre of personnel – available on a mutual aid basis, and trained in the analysis and viewing of CCTV images – should be developed to assist police services with the examination of large volumes of CCTV material recovered during major crime and terrorist operations.

Storage/volume/archiving/retention

It has often been said that there’s a large disparity between CCTV systems in terms of the way storage, archiving and retention is handled. Questions surrounding storage focus on what needs to be stored, how it should be stored and for how long. There remain large variations in standards, with differing lengths of retention period and differing formats. “An agreed standard must be reached, based on sound technical advice.”

How long images are to be stored for will depend on how long the evidence is needed in the opinion of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Conditions of storage must be agreed upon to keep degradation to a minimum. When images are stored, there can be problems with accessibility and retrieval. Linked with this is the need to develop better systems whereby access to data/images is faster and simpler.

The National CCTV Strategy Report also states: “Serious concerns have been raised about the best methods of dealing with the huge amounts of material retained, used, stored and archived within the Criminal Justice System. Existing methods of removing/exporting material to CD, DVD and hard disk are not consistent with other methods of handling data. Non-standard proprietary formats will be difficult to play back in future years.”

The police service needs to be provided with CCTV retention and disclosure guidance. The National Policing Improvement Agency is currently working on a document offering guidance on police use of digital images. The Report recommends that complete ‘camera to archive’ network access and data archiving methods simply must be evaluated.

CCTV networks: live and stored

Only in a handful of the more recent installations is there remote access to previously recorded (stored) video. As a result, on almost every occasion where the police need to view CCTV material, they must first attend the venue.

The majority of town centre CCTV Control Rooms provide facilities for officers to view the material, but for large/serious investigations and for those occasions when there are no viewing facilities, the police have to seize the data and then find a method for viewing it (often after having had it converted to a different format).

All of this occurs before it’s even known if the system has captured the event in question, or if it is of value to warrant retrieval. Clearly, this is a resource-hungry process.

These delays and difficulties wouldn’t be an issue if live and stored CCTV systems were networked and any CCTV material accessible. “This would make CCTV usage equivalent to most peoples’ experiences of access to other forms of information held on their local network or via the Internet.”

Connecting individual CCTV systems means that the police have immediate access to live and recorded CCTV material, and use the more extensive live CCTV to help inform their decisions as a situation arises and develops. In the event of a recent crime being reported, the police can begin to remotely investigate by replaying the stored footage while deploying officers ‘on the ground’. When suspects have been arrested the CCTV images would be more easily available and could be played back using a standard PC. This would reduce the occasions on which suspects had to be bailed as CCTV material had not been collected or made available in a viewable format.

The Criminal Justice System

As stated, the presentation of CCTV evidence in Courts of Law is an ongoing problem. A group that’s working on this area is the Criminal Justice System’s Audio/Visual Strategy Group. It’s firmly committed to the development of audio-visual technology, and ensuring both the compatibility and interoperability of systems.

However, current assessments would suggest that the CPS – alongside Her Majesty’s Court Service and the Criminal Justice System as a whole – hasn’t kept pace with developments in CCTV technology. Where newer technology has been provided, it’s not immediately apparent that the Courts are making best use of it.

The findings of the National CCTV Strategy Report indicate that little or no guidance has been issued to Court staff on the operation of technology and its maintenance, nor is the standard of training acceptable in general terms. Also, disclosure and evidence continuity rules appear complex, resulting in misunderstandings in many areas of the Criminal Justice System (which often leads to ‘cracked’ and/or ineffective trials).

Continuing consultation is needed involving the Ministry of Justice to agree on central Government guidance on the minimum standards for playback systems and the training of Court staff. Better communication is required between the CPS and the police on the video evidence desired in cases. “There is also an ongoing need for the Home Office to join up its work with the Criminal Justice System Audio/Visual Strategy Group and the Operation Emerald Team to bring together – in a concise and clear way – the actions it needs to carry out in order for improvements to be made.”

In the event of a guilty plea, consideration should be given – argue the CCTV Report’s authors – “to playing CCTV evidence in Court where this may assist in determining an appropriate sentence”.

Changing threats and priorities

“The thrust of the current technological change within the CCTV market includes automated analysis, technology convergence and integrated systems. While the basic mechanisms and principles of CCTV are understood, and have been in operation for many years, the search continues for the panacea of CCTV – systems capable of automated picture analysis, person identification and behavioural analysis. Research still continues. Some applications have emerged, but with limited success.”

There has also been a change in the nature of the threat, of course, mainly due to organised crime and terrorism. Much of the planning and siting of cameras to date has focused on dealing with local volume crime. To address the new threats, cameras will have to be sited in accordance with National Intelligence Model assessments, national threat assessments and the location of high risk targets. A network also needs to be formed to establish the national two-way flow of intelligence and CCTV images before, during and post-incidents.

CCTV also has to be able to adapt to changes in crime patterns and, therefore, local priorities. There is a feeling that more needs to be done to make cameras easily re-deployable such that they’re always operational in so-called ‘crime hotspots’.

Recommendations in the National CCTV Strategy Report include the establishment of a structure/body that promotes a greater relationship or partnership between the universities, manufacturers and users. Close ties have to be established with the Information and Surveillance Commissioners.

Management, finance and resources

The finance and funding issue could be a serious threat to the future of CCTV “whether it affects the installation of cameras in areas that currently don’t benefit from CCTV, or its expansion and growth into the type of network that has been suggested, or how it’s used by the police or within the Criminal Justice System.” Obviously, an effective funding stream is required. This may well include:

• Contributions by Stakeholders and interested parties (in most cases this will include monies from the police service)

• Further Government funding – a dedicated funding stream for CCTV, covering maintenance, repairs and expansion.

According to Tony McNulty – Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism and Policing at The Home Office, who wrote the Foreword to the National Strategy – the next stage is an implementation phase. This will prioritise and develop the recommendations made and establish a future strategy for CCTV.

A National CCTV Strategy Programme Board has already been established to co-ordinate all activity. One suspects its machinations will be scrutinised at close quarters. After all, the Board’s decisions will determine whether or not the full benefits of CCTV are realised.

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