Camden News: Town Hall | Surveillance

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Camden News - by PAUL KIELTHY
Published: 2 October 2008

Increase in Town Hall surveillance

THE level of council surveillance of its citizens and staff has more than quadrupled in the past eight years, as Town Hall staff increasingly use covert cameras and check emails and telephone records, a report revealed on Tuesday.
The council has wide powers of covert surveillance and has increased their use from 13 instances in 2002 – when law changes meant they started being recorded – to 83 in 2007. While the figures for 2008 show a slight drop to 73, the powers have been used 36 times since April.
The figures were disclosed in a report by the council’s Internal Audit department, which monitors surveillance use, to the Audit Committee on Tuesday night.
Camden Audit and Investigations Chief, Tracy Barnett, said: “In Camden’s case the majority are actually carried out in countering anti-social behaviour. We would only be doing it in connection with criminal activity.”

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