Islington Tribune - News: CCTV looks in bedroom

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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 8 June 2007

Feeling spied upon: Maurice Wood’s butchers’ shop and, inset,the controversial camera

CCTV LOOKS IN BEDROOM

Cameras that monitor traffic can see inside homes

BIG Brother has not just been watching the unfortunate residents in Barnsbury Street – he’s been appearing to stare directly into the privacy of their bedrooms.
The culprit is a CCTV camera on a 70-foot pole at the junction with Liverpool Road which is meant to enforce a lorry ban - but has a habit of swivelling around at odd times pointing not just at the road but also into people’s homes.
Maurice Wood, owner of one of Islington’s oldest and most popular butchers, woke up one morning and drew the back the curtains to discover he was staring into the camera positioned within yards of his front door.
Mr Wood said: “Our shop is celebrating its centenary next year. But currently I don’t feel very much in the party mood.
“I’m all in favour of CCTV for the deterrence of crime but there is nothing more unnerving and distressing than having a camera aimed at your home.
“My daughter has even had the camera pointing towards her bedroom.”
Islington Council, to its credit, has been very understanding and is currently considering a proposal by local MP Emily Thornberry to have the offending camera relocated.
Neighbour Jessamy Corbett is also concerned that the camera has been pointing at her property and could potentially be used to spy.
She said: “The council have offered to take me to where they monitor the camera at King’s Cross. They want to prove that it’s not intrusive.
“Well, maybe it’s not but we have a right to absolute privacy in our own homes. I’ve no issue with CCTV. But I do have an issue about it looking into my bedroom. We want it taken away and put where there’s no potential to intrude.”
She added that she has been told that CCTV is particularly valuable in the event of being mugged late at night.
“It might be able to capture a photo of the mugger – but it can’t stop the incident happening.”
Canonbury novelist, the late George Orwell, wrote 1984 about Big Brother and the intrusion of authority into the lives of people. Today critics of widespread CCTV say Orwell couldn’t have guessed how close his prophecy would turn out to be. Britain is now said to be the most CCTV camera watched country in the world.
But a council spokesperson said: “Mr Wood was one of over 60 local residents who signed a petition supporting the council’s proposal to install this camera.
“It will deter crime and help improve road safety by keeping heavy lorries out of this narrow residential street.
“The camera is in the best position to get a complete view of the street and pavement. We have carefully avoided invading people’s domestic privacy – as we do with all CCTV cameras.
“We’ve explained to Mr Wood and Ms Corbett that we use sophisticated technology at the control room to block their windows from the camera’s view. I’d like to reassure residents that this camera is there to keep them safer.”

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There shouldn‚t be any need to relocate this camera. Under the Data
Protection Act and the relating CCTV Code of Practice to which all cctv
cameras must by law comply, all cctv data should be adequate, relevant and
not excessive. A camera looking at poeples private property would seem to me
to be not relevant and also excessive.
If the council had a proper DPA compliance solution in place this should not
be an issue.
Also all movabele cctv camera‚s will have either limit switches or privacy
zones which should either stop it being turned too far in a particular
direction or electronically blanking out specific sections of the cameras
general view to protect privacy.
See www.datpro.co.uk for more info.
Steve Cupples