Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by FuzzyDunlop on Sunday November 04, 2012 @06:55AM
(#4739541)
They're pretty frequent around the Islington area and outside of London. Same with the DVLA cards with ANPR cameras that park up on busy roads; and the yellow police vans with 'CCTV Unit' plastered on the side.
'Course, we can all say what we have and haven't seen and go on for ages, without some hard stats.
Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by aes256 on Sunday November 04, 2012 @08:09AM
(#4739667)
Head outside the major cities (London, Birmingham, Manchester, etc.) and these kind of vehicles are exceptionally rare.
Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by 3amOpsGuy on Sunday November 04, 2012 @06:25AM
(#4739496)
It's widely deployed these days, throughout the country not just in London.
I'm not really sure what they're supposed to do. You don't see them working late Friday / Saturday nights (the revellers just get a bit too rowdy around the delicate camera i suppose).
I should probably do a FOIA request and see what they achieve in my area.
Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by salvadors on Monday November 05, 2012 @02:02AM
(#4742547)
If you do, do it through http://whatdotheyknow.com/ so that everyone can see the response.
Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by betageek on Sunday November 04, 2012 @06:00AM
(#4739461)
I see one nearly every day in Lambeth in London. It's a Smart Car with "Parking Enforcement" written and a pole with a camera mounted on it attached to the top.
Re:‘Creepy Cameraman’ pushes limits of public surveillance
by keithpeter on Sunday November 04, 2012 @07:46AM
(#4739626)
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2010/0...
We've had a few issues with covert cameras in parts of Birmingham. The latest on the story above is that the removal and disposal of the cameras will cost a further £300k on top of the £3m to fit.
Returning to the original article; in the UK, this guy would be having a conversation with the police rather quickly, especially if he appears to be targeting individuals.
No, it really isn't, and I'm not sure what motive there is to claim otherwise, especially as you clearly don't live here. It's been in trial/used in a few boroughs of larger towns, though in fact there have been a number of boroughs that have removed them after complaints (Richmond which is a London borough removed theirs in 2011, with the councilors themselves disliking them).
I've lived in London and a couple more large towns/cities over the last 4 years and have never seen one or heard of one being used in a local area.