ianstone
06-17-2010, 03:23 PM
Dozens of CCTV cameras which 'targeted Muslims' mothballed after civil liberties complaints
By Jack Doyle (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Jack+Doyle)
Last updated at 7:03 PM on 17th June 2010
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287425-0A14A669000005DC-445_233x431.jpg CCTV scrapped: Two of the cameras in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham, home to a large Muslim population
Civil liberties campaigners claimed a major victory yesterday when a CCTV camera 'Ring of Steel' around a largely Muslim area was mothballed.
More than 200 cameras - including dozens of secret units hidden from public view - were due to be switched on within days to allow tracking of pedestrian and traffic movement in and out of two districts of Birmingham.
But there was outrage after it emerged the £3million project was being paid for from a national counter-terrorism grant.
Critics said the scheme was further evidence of the shocking extent of Britain's 'Surveillance State' and was unfairly targeting Muslims.
Yesterday council leaders and police apologised for failing to inform some councillors both of details of the plans and its funding source.
But astonishingly they said wanted to go ahead with the scheme, in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath, regardless, claiming it would help to cut crime and anti-social behaviour.
Plastic bags will be placed over cameras that can be seen from the street to prove they are not in use, and 'covert' units will not be switched on while the public are asked whether they want it scrapped.
Councillor Salma Yaqoob accused officials of being deliberately 'sneaky' and demanded to know the locations of all the hidden cameras.
'In terms of reassurance it's going to take a lot more than plastic bags,' she said.
'The residents have lost faith with the authorities for their sneaky handling of the way they went about this and will not be reassured until they have been told the locations of the hidden cameras too.'
More...
Now naked body scans of passengers WON'T be viewed by airport staff unless images are 'suspicious ' (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287320/Airport-super-scanner-beats-naked-images-controversy.html)
Corinna Ferguson, legal officer of human rights group Liberty said: 'Belated consultation of the communities targeted by Project Champion will give local people a much needed platform to voice their absolute rejection of this discriminatory scheme.
'Putting bags over cameras will not conceal the project’s true agenda, and Liberty will continue to pursue the protection of residents’ privacy under the Human Rights Act.'
Under the scheme, known as 'Project Champion', a network of 218 cameras was installed that ensured no vehicle could leave the areas without being photographed.
Of the total 49 are standard CCTV units and 169 are Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that take a photograph of every car's registration details as it goes past.
Around 70 covert cameras were hidden in trees or walls by the side of the road.
Funding came from the Home Office's Terrorism and Allied Matters (TAM) fund, which is administered by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Early police authority discussions about the project were held in secret and councillors said organisers barely mentioned counter-terrorism as a reason for it, despite the source of funding.
Had all the cameras been switched on, it would have made the area among the most watched in the country. By contrast, Birmingham City Centre has just 50 cameras.
Dylan Sharpe, campaign director of Big Brother Watch, said the money would have been better spent on putting policemen on the streets.
'This fiasco is sadly representative of Britain’s surveillance state,' he said.
'The authorities in Birmingham have placed an enormous number of cameras in a very small area, failed to ask local councillors and residents if they actually wanted this surveillance, and wasted £3 million of taxpayers' money in the process.
'If this initiative was about fighting crime, that £3 million could have been better invested putting policemen on the streets.'
Ministers have pledged to properly regulate CCTV cameras to protect against abuse.
A Home Office spokesman said: 'Work is already underway on CCTV regulation and the government will be bringing forward proposals as soon as possible.'
Stop and search
Police stop and searches on black and Asian people have increased by more than three quarters in five years.
Asians are now twice as likely and blacks seven times as likely to be searched, per head of population, than whites.
Ministry of Justice figures released yesterday showed a total of 1,126,258 searches were carried out in 2008/9, up a third on 2004/5.
But the biggest increases by far were among ethnic minority groups.
Stops and searches of blacks rose from 118,165 five years ago to more than 205,000, while those of Asians rose from 59,954 to more than 105,000. But only a small proportion led to arrests.
Last week ministers admitted thousands of stops and searches carried out under controversial counter-terror powers over the last decade were carried out illegally because officials failed to get proper authorisation.
Paperwork errors meant approval was not given by ministers until after the deadline set down by law. On other occasions forces were given access to temporary counter terror powers for longer than the 28 days allowed.
The mistakes could leave taxpayers with a multi-million pound bill for compensation.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287425/Dozens-CCTV-cameras-targeted-Muslims-mothballed-civil-liberties-complaints.html#ixzz0r8jWKzTW
Aren't we fucking blessed, don't upset the Muslims. We should have so many camera's, we may be safer. WTF about us ! ?
By Jack Doyle (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Jack+Doyle)
Last updated at 7:03 PM on 17th June 2010
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287425-0A14A669000005DC-445_233x431.jpg CCTV scrapped: Two of the cameras in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham, home to a large Muslim population
Civil liberties campaigners claimed a major victory yesterday when a CCTV camera 'Ring of Steel' around a largely Muslim area was mothballed.
More than 200 cameras - including dozens of secret units hidden from public view - were due to be switched on within days to allow tracking of pedestrian and traffic movement in and out of two districts of Birmingham.
But there was outrage after it emerged the £3million project was being paid for from a national counter-terrorism grant.
Critics said the scheme was further evidence of the shocking extent of Britain's 'Surveillance State' and was unfairly targeting Muslims.
Yesterday council leaders and police apologised for failing to inform some councillors both of details of the plans and its funding source.
But astonishingly they said wanted to go ahead with the scheme, in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath, regardless, claiming it would help to cut crime and anti-social behaviour.
Plastic bags will be placed over cameras that can be seen from the street to prove they are not in use, and 'covert' units will not be switched on while the public are asked whether they want it scrapped.
Councillor Salma Yaqoob accused officials of being deliberately 'sneaky' and demanded to know the locations of all the hidden cameras.
'In terms of reassurance it's going to take a lot more than plastic bags,' she said.
'The residents have lost faith with the authorities for their sneaky handling of the way they went about this and will not be reassured until they have been told the locations of the hidden cameras too.'
More...
Now naked body scans of passengers WON'T be viewed by airport staff unless images are 'suspicious ' (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287320/Airport-super-scanner-beats-naked-images-controversy.html)
Corinna Ferguson, legal officer of human rights group Liberty said: 'Belated consultation of the communities targeted by Project Champion will give local people a much needed platform to voice their absolute rejection of this discriminatory scheme.
'Putting bags over cameras will not conceal the project’s true agenda, and Liberty will continue to pursue the protection of residents’ privacy under the Human Rights Act.'
Under the scheme, known as 'Project Champion', a network of 218 cameras was installed that ensured no vehicle could leave the areas without being photographed.
Of the total 49 are standard CCTV units and 169 are Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) cameras that take a photograph of every car's registration details as it goes past.
Around 70 covert cameras were hidden in trees or walls by the side of the road.
Funding came from the Home Office's Terrorism and Allied Matters (TAM) fund, which is administered by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Early police authority discussions about the project were held in secret and councillors said organisers barely mentioned counter-terrorism as a reason for it, despite the source of funding.
Had all the cameras been switched on, it would have made the area among the most watched in the country. By contrast, Birmingham City Centre has just 50 cameras.
Dylan Sharpe, campaign director of Big Brother Watch, said the money would have been better spent on putting policemen on the streets.
'This fiasco is sadly representative of Britain’s surveillance state,' he said.
'The authorities in Birmingham have placed an enormous number of cameras in a very small area, failed to ask local councillors and residents if they actually wanted this surveillance, and wasted £3 million of taxpayers' money in the process.
'If this initiative was about fighting crime, that £3 million could have been better invested putting policemen on the streets.'
Ministers have pledged to properly regulate CCTV cameras to protect against abuse.
A Home Office spokesman said: 'Work is already underway on CCTV regulation and the government will be bringing forward proposals as soon as possible.'
Stop and search
Police stop and searches on black and Asian people have increased by more than three quarters in five years.
Asians are now twice as likely and blacks seven times as likely to be searched, per head of population, than whites.
Ministry of Justice figures released yesterday showed a total of 1,126,258 searches were carried out in 2008/9, up a third on 2004/5.
But the biggest increases by far were among ethnic minority groups.
Stops and searches of blacks rose from 118,165 five years ago to more than 205,000, while those of Asians rose from 59,954 to more than 105,000. But only a small proportion led to arrests.
Last week ministers admitted thousands of stops and searches carried out under controversial counter-terror powers over the last decade were carried out illegally because officials failed to get proper authorisation.
Paperwork errors meant approval was not given by ministers until after the deadline set down by law. On other occasions forces were given access to temporary counter terror powers for longer than the 28 days allowed.
The mistakes could leave taxpayers with a multi-million pound bill for compensation.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287425/Dozens-CCTV-cameras-targeted-Muslims-mothballed-civil-liberties-complaints.html#ixzz0r8jWKzTW
Aren't we fucking blessed, don't upset the Muslims. We should have so many camera's, we may be safer. WTF about us ! ?