ANNUAL LOCAL AUTHORITY CCTV CONFERENCE – Thursday 2nd July 2009

LOCAL AUTHORITY CCTV 2009

A focus on key issues, developments and best practice

Local Government House, Smith Square, Westminster SW1 

The Morning Programme

Chair’s  Introduction

This introductory session will start proceedings with an overview of the key issues for public sector CCTV in 2009 together with forthcoming changes in legislation, good practice and technological innovation.

Current Key Issues in Public Sector Surveillance

In April 2009 public consultation was published that sets out how local authorities and communities can work together to implement counter-terrorist security advice. This follows the Home Office’s revised counter-terorism strategy – CONTEST. The consultation document ‘Working Together to Protect Crowded Places’ will assist authorities and local partnerships in understanding their contribution to protecting local communities. CCTV has an important role in this programme. This presentation will provide a background to the consultation, the role of local partnerships in counter-terrorist security and the use of CCTV to help protect the public.

There has been recent publicity regarding the insistence of installation of CCTV for licensing compliance in pubs, nightclubs and taxis. In this session the Office of the Information Commissioner will provide guidance on the use of CCTV, the protection of privacy and the future of surveillance and restrictions.

Recent publicised cases of local authorities extending the use of CCTV surveillance have, in some instances, caused public concern over the use of council systems. Liberty is the foremost civil liberties group and will provide a presentation clarifying the need to protect privacy. This is an essential part of the consideration of authorities in ensuring public confidence in CCTV systems whilst carrying out council business.

The Home Office has launched a review of the use of RIPA by local authorities and is currently consulting on possible amendments to the legislation. The Local Government Association, as the representative body of local authorities at a national level, provides a view on the use of CCTV by authorities and the local authorities’ response to the RIPA consultation.

The Afternoon Programme

The type and costs of transmission systems is a key current consideration for CCTV management. This session will look at transmission alternatives highlighting the use and functionality, as well as cost, of alternative systems.

Extending CCTV Applications

Workshops

Workshop A

Technological Changes
Professor Bernard Jones, Technical Director, Astraguard

This workshop will provide a forum for an analysis of recent technological changes in surveillance equipment and research into the technology of the future including video analytics and biometrics.

Workshop B

Using CCTV to Deliver the Cleaner, Safer, Greener Agenda
Encams (the Environmental Campaigns Charity) – speaker to be confirmed

Local authorities are tasked with creating cleaner, safer and greener environments for their citizens. This workshop looks at the role of CCTV in tackling environmental crime including graffiti, littering, dog fouling and anti-social behaviour.

Workshop C

The use of CCTV in Traffic and Parking Management
Mark Austin, Team Leader, CCTV & National Technology Delivery,
Highways Agency

Recent years have seen a huge increase in the use of CCTV in traffic and parking management. This workshop will look at the innovative ways CCTV can be used including pollution, congestion, penalties, parking and public transport monitoring. It will examine how transport objectives can be integrated and optimised.

The Application of KLoEs to Public Sector CCTV

Local authority CCTV systems will be evaluated under various groups of Key Lines of Enquiries (KLoEs) by the Audit Commission e.g. Housing, Community Safety and Environment. The judgement questions may be used by authorities as a basis of service review and for ensuring that their CCTV service offers value for money, and that it responds to and supports community needs. This presentation provides an overview of the assessment process and advice to enable authorities to be “KLoE Friendly”.