Official report finds most CCTV footage unusable as evidence

23 Oct 07

A damning official report into the effectiveness of CCTV has found that 80 per cent of images given to police are not useful as evidence.

The document, issued by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), warns that “far from ideal” footage could be helping criminals to avoid justice.

The 18-month consultation with retailers, local authorities and police found that the lack of a standard ‘camera to archive’ process leaves most footage unusable.

In fact, it was reported that many CCTV systems are installed without a clear plan of what they will be used for, and users often have no idea of how footage will be played back as evidence in court.

Police struggling to deal with the wide range of digital and analogue systems in use around the country have even appointed a specialist team to ‘decode’ footage for playback on Criminal Justice System computers.

“...we see that this Government has managed to give people all the disadvantages of CCTV in terms of undermining civil liberties but only provide minimal advantage in terms of public safety and crime detection.”

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis

It was revealed that many of the UK’s ‘public’ cameras, which have cost taxpayers around £200m in the last decade, are not even properly positioned to capture crime effectively.

“Much of the CCTV was installed in the 1990s, and any analysis of the siting of cameras may not still be relevant today,” the report says.

The National CCTV Strategy goes on to recommend changes to the way CCTV is monitored, including giving greater powers to the Information Commissioner and using the Data Protection Act more effectively. Such ideas have been welcomed by the BSIA, who described the report as a “significant step forward”.

"The plans laid down by the strategy will bring major benefits to public safety and lead to the effective reduction of crime,” said Pauline Norstrom, CCTV section chairman at the BSIA.

“CCTV technology is now very much part of our everyday lives and it is essential that its potential is maximised for the benefit of all.”

Pauline Norstrom, CCTV section chairman at the BSIA.

“CCTV technology is now very much part of our everyday lives and it is essential that its potential is maximised for the benefit of all."

But the review, which ultimately recommends more funding for CCTV in public spaces, was lambasted by Shadow Home Secretary David Davis.

"In yet another extraordinary admission of incompetence we see that this Government has managed to give people all the disadvantages of CCTV in terms of undermining civil liberties but only provide minimal advantage in terms of public safety and crime detection," he said.

National CCTV Strategy: Summary of Recommendations

Standards

* Establish a body responsible for the governance and use of CCTV in the UK

* Agree on digital CCTV standards and digital video formats for public space CCTV, the police and the Criminal Justice System

* Seek to influence national and international CCTV standards

* Continue the ongoing review of the Home Office Scientific Development Branch’s Operational Requirements Manual

* Develop a programme for CCTV operators to review the location and purpose of their CCTV cameras

* Establish technical requirements that will allow CCTV cameras to be used for multiple purposes

* Provide clear advice to CCTV operators on police service and Crown Prosecution Service requirements from CCTV systems in order to maximise successful prosecutions

* Establish the gaps in CCTV coverage, taking into account the National Intelligence Model and the National Threat Assessment Model

* Further develop and share Best Practice in the use and operation of public space CCTV systems

* Encourage town centre CCTV schemes to monitor existing CCTV systems in other areas of public space and the transport infrastructure, thus creating a ‘hub’ for public space CCTV

Registration, Inspection, Enforcement

* Greater powers for the Information Commissioner to enforce CCTV licensing requirements of both systems and people

* Develop legislation to ensure the appropriate regulation of CCTV systems

* Develop a system of registration that assists in the regulation of CCTV systems

* CCTV should be considered as an element of planning and licensing applications

* Develop a mechanism to allow the enforcement of CCTV standards

Training

* Security Industry Authority to clarify requirements in relation to operator licensing

* Develop minimum training requirements and, ultimately, an accredited training programme for all those engaged in CCTV

Police Use of CCTV

* Image retention periods should be standardised and relate to the operational purpose of the CCTV system

* The police service needs to review its internal operational processes and management structure (in effect, it needs to determine ownership for CCTV within each force and consider its link to existing forensic disciplines, as well as its future training and development requirements)

* The police service should develop an organisational model for managing the recovery, analysis and investigation of CCTV evidence

* The specialist nature of CCTV image recovery, analysis and investigation should be recognised and appropriate training developed

* Performance standards similar to those that support other forms of crime scene evidence should be developed in relation to CCTV recovery and analysis

* Research should be undertaken to determine the relative benefits of fingerprint and DNA recovery in comparison with CCTV recovery

* Protocols should be developed allowing the use of Airwave radio in town centre CCTV Control Rooms, and the sharing of intelligence between the police and town centre CCTV monitoring staff

* Protocols should be developed that require the police service to provide feedback to town centre CCTV managers as to the operational usefulness of CCTV images

* The police service needs to consider the development of a CCTV capability to support serious and organised crime detection and prevention, counter-terrorism and the protection of ‘key economic sites’ across the UK

Storage/Volume/Retention

* Develop CCTV image retention and disclosure guidance

* CCTV operators, the police service and Criminal Justice System agencies should determine their respective roles and responsibilities in relation to the short and long term retention (including archiving) of CCTV material

* Evaluate ‘camera-to-archive’ network access and data archiving methods

CCTV Networks: Live and Stored

* Establish a basic CCTV network infrastructure, security and access rights and permissions

* Establish the effectiveness of CCTV networks by running pilot projects

* Determine the strategic CCTV network required

* Facilitate the connection of digital CCTV systems to the network

Facilities in the Criminal Justice System

* The Crown Prosecution Service and Her Majesty’s Court Service should develop the capacity to view digitally recorded CCTV evidence

* The Crown Prosecution Service and the police service must develop a better understanding of disclosure and evidence continuity that will ensure trials are not lost due to any failure to adopt proper procedures

* In the event of a guilty plea, there should be a presumption that CCTV evidence is replayed in Court (at which point it may then assist in determining an appropriate sentence)

Change/Emerging Technologies/Changing Threats and New Priorities

* Establish a structure/body that promotes a greater relationship/partnership between the universities, CCTV systems manufacturers and end users

* Establish closer ties with the Information and Surveillance Commissioners in developing surveillance technologies

* Use National Threat Assessments and develop other tools and initiatives to increase the effectiveness of CCTV in managing and reducing the threat of serious and organised crime and terrorism

* Promote the use of the National Intelligence Model, and establish other tools and practices to improve the responsiveness of CCTV to changes in local crime and local priorities

Partnership Working

* Primacy in relation to CCTV should be determined at a local level, taking into account the strategic guidance provided by the National CCTV Strategy and the National Strategic Board

Management/Finances/Resources

* Create an effective funding stream for public space CCTV

* Develop national Key Performance Indicators relating to the use of public space CCTV across all associated agencies

* Promote CCTV and its expansion by forming evidence-based business cases

A comprehensive article on the National CCTV Strategy Report will appear in the December edition of Security Management Today (SMT).