Issue - meetings

To receive a report in respect of covert use of CCTV in the Borough.

Further to questions raised by the Panel at its meeting on 23 June 2009 in relation to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the use of CCTV for surveillance purposes,  Members received a report which set out the background to the control and use of surveillance techniques including CCTV as part of the Council’s normal enforcement activity, particularly that of Trading Standards and Environmental Health Services.

The nature of some enforcement activity undertaken by the Council required surveillance techniques to be used. Some of that surveillance was overt whilst other needed to be covert to be effective.

The Council had a covert CCTV policy which had been produced by the Borough Solicitor. The policy set out the framework for use of CCTV and specified that where surveillance was required to be covert the provisions of RIPA, which gave specific authorisation of an operation, should be used to protect public rights. Bracknell Forest’s use of RIPA was examined and reported on, every other year.

Currently covert CCTV had only been used in respect of under age test purchases. The cameras had been used overtly at a number of recycling sites around the Borough as a deterrent to flytipping. As yet the cameras had not been used covertly, however a need had been identified to do so on some sites that were prone to flytipping and where other techniques were impractical if the objective was to address the associated crime.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         The footage from the cameras was extremely clear allowing individuals to be identified.

·         The overt CCTV camera and the covert CCTV camera were the same camera used in a different way.

·         The current estimated cost to the Council of flytipping in the Borough was £100,000 a year, which related to collection and removal cost.

·         The Borough Solicitor was responsible for the Council’s CCTV policy and the policy was available on the staff intranet. A copy of the use of CCTV Policy could be made available  to any Member wishing to see it.

·         Members were involved in the use of covert CCTV through the Trading Standards Committee which approved test purchases.

·         The register of CCTV use was managed by the Borough Solicitor and it was thought that this would be available to the public through a Freedom of Information request.

·         Overt CCTV did not act as a suitable deterrent in some cases as offenders would move from one place which had an overt camera to another location in the Borough which did not have a camera in place. The use of covert CCTV was a pro-active approach to catch serious offenders.

The Panel noted the report with the exception of one Member who indicated that the report had not answered all of his questions about the use of covert CCTV in Bracknell Forest.