London Watching

With 4.2 million CCTV cameras currently in operation in the UK -- that's one for every 14 residents -- what's a couple thousand more?

Recent news out of the UK (via @Steve_Hunt and @kasrar) is that within months a national grid of cameras will be able to automatically read and record license plate numbers. Thousands of cameras are already operating in the UK, and soon enough that ANPR metadata will be shared and available to England, Wales and Scotland via one central computer.

With cameras scanning over 10 million plates daily, it won't matter whether you're driving a stolen vehicle or your mom's Volvo -- the plate number will be logged and stored for two years.

Not surprising that the new implementation is drawing red flags from folks concerned about the lack of regulation and personal information protection -- and for good reason! Even if the technology is intended for criminals rather than law-abiding citizens (police have already seen a 40% increase in arrests!) the public have the right to ensure that personal privacy rights are not infringed upon and that proper regulation of information is enforced.

Many details are still to be worked out, such as a regulatory code for the grid -- the system is far from flawless in nature -- but it looks like the UK is well on its way to effectively utilizing CCTV to cut down on crimes. Let's hope they use it for tracking down criminals and stolen vehicles rather than stopping red-light runners and other minor traffic offenses. We already have enough of that in the US.

LPR Systems Abound Both in the US and Abroad

Whether to capture bank robbers and kidnappers on the run in the Cincinnati region or just to enforce local parking lot limitations in Aspen, License Plate Recognition (LPR) systems are spreading quickly throughout the country -- and as evidenced from recent headlines, they are finding their way overseas as well.

Yesterday, the Anti-Aggression Brigade from the Brussels Police Department in Belgium announced its deployment of AutoVu, Genetec’s IP LPR solution, to help detect stolen vehicles throughout the city. The day before, Hi-Tech Solutions Ltd. announced that its LPR solution, SeeCar, was selected to automate access control in 1,300 parking spots for AFCON’s Fast Park in the B.S.R. Towers in Israel.

While each initiative is meant to achieve a distinct objective — in Belgium, to track and find stolen vehicles, and in Israel to ensure that only permitted guests enter parking lots and to block unwelcome vehicles — these projects demonstrate the growing trend of LPR across major cities and ultimately the rise of urban surveillance worldwide.

Reported success has been limited for the numerous projects deployed thus far; however, recent innovation in camera technology, increased sensitivity to privacy infringements, and the hope of thwarting criminal attempts and increased protection of urban populations should indicate a promising future for LPR technologies.

Should Red Light Cameras Be Stopped?

Theoretically red light cameras are great - who wants people running red lights? The problem comes when people fail to differentiate between red light cameras and security cameras and wind up throwing the baby out with the bath water. While they appear to be associated with safety, red light cameras in fact exist to generate revenue for cities, and they're largely ineffective at actually reducing accidents. Security cameras, on the other hand, exist to protect cities and people. To lose the latter because of the annoyance and poor performance of the former would be silly in the best case scenario, tragic in the worst. Unfortunately, that is exactly what may happen in cities throughout the country as citizens protest against red light cameras and the trade-off of privacy for city funds that they require.

Camera Plans Hits Red Light

A New Jersey State Senate vote on a red light camera funding bill fell short of the votes needed to pass Monday. The Garden State is the only one to see its traffic camera plans go awry lately, however.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox declared use of red light and speed cameras
to be illegal. And the Minnesota Supreme Court struck down red light cameras,
ruling it was wrong for police to ticket the car owner, regardless of who was
driving.

Surveillance cameras used in crime-fighting seem to avoid most of these challenges, however, and catch actual bad guys.. There has got be a reason folks are so fixated on traffic cameras.