Tag: surveillance

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Surveillance Uncategorized

The increase in CCTV has not caused a siginificant decrease in crime

Owen Bowcott reports in The Guardian that CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police.

A senior police officer confirms what I’ve suspected for a long while that the massive increase in the number of CCTV cameras has not seen a corresponding decrease in crime.

Use of CCTV images for court evidence has so far been very poor, according to Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, the officer in charge of the Metropolitan police unit. “CCTV was originally seen as a preventative measure,” Neville told the Security Document World Conference in London. “Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be used in court. It’s been an utter fiasco: only 3% of crimes were solved by CCTV. There’s no fear of CCTV. Why don’t people fear it? [They think] the cameras are not working.”

Presumably the criminals think the cameras do not work because they are able to get away with their crimes in full view of them. However the general public have a great deal of faith in the ability of CCTV to cut crime because they have been sold on the idea by the politicians and the police.

With the differing perception of the effect of CCTV the increase in number might have an effect to increase crime because people become more complacent in a heavily surveilled area believing they are safe from criminals.

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Surveillance Uncategorized

Bicester drinkers happy to be tested for drugs by police

Customers of the Litten Tree pub in Bicester were apparently quite happy to be submitted to a drug test upon entering the premises. [via]

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Movies Reviews Surveillance

Review: Taking Liberties

Taking Liberties

Most important UK documentary of the decade? Perhaps. Whilst it is not as well made as the Adam Curtis documentary The Power of Nightmares it is very powerful and has a hell of an impact. I only wish more people would see it, but I have a feeling that it will only end up preaching to the converted as those in the know are the only ones that will go to see it.

However if it inspires anyone and moves them to action then perhaps it be said to have succeeded. It made me rethink my decision no to join the march against the War in Iraq, I knew at the time that the government was committed to war and would not be swayed in that by any number of marchers but perhaps I should have stood up to be counted amongst those opposed.

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Surveillance Uncategorized

Fingerprinting children

Britain, a nation that has sleepwalked into a surveillance state is considering a proposal to fingerprint children aged 11-15.

This is to tackle the danger posed by teenagers that might otherwise be able to avoid the all-seeing eye of the British Surveillance Society because they will have child passports free from biometric details. [via]

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Security Surveillance Uncategorized

The street value of X-ray cameras

BBC News: Could X-ray scanners work on the street?

X-ray cameras that would “undress” passers-by in a bid to thwart terrorists concealing weapons, could be coming to a street near you, according to reports. Aside from the obvious privacy issues, would such a plan work?

Leaked documents said to have been drawn up by the Home Office and seen by the Sun newspaper say cameras which can see through clothes could be built into lamp posts to “trap terror suspects”.

X-ray type cameras have their place in the security framework but in the War on Terror they would be costly and ineffective if implemented widely like surveillance cameras.

They are effective in situations where specific locations need securing such as airports as they can be used to filter out individuals for additional scrutiny by security guards who are hand to do so.

Surveillance cameras are used in an entirely different manner they are predominantly used as a visible deterrent against criminal acts or as evidence gathering devices for prosecution of criminals after the fact. They are very rarely used to apprehend criminals in the act.

Security expert Bob Ayers, of Chatham House, believes putting an X-ray lens on a lamppost poses all sorts of resource questions.

“Some guy walks past and his picture is beamed back to a control room to say that something is under his jacket. What do you do? Despatch a police car to hunt him down and frisk him?

“The real question is not whether the technology can see something under the clothing. It’s how you respond to it when the technology says there’s something unusual.

This may well have been obtained from leak Home Office documents but I doubt even that incompetent government department would pursue this ill-thought out scheme.

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Surveillance Uncategorized

CCTV cameras gain ability to hear as well as see

Speak softly and carry a big stick

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Politics Security Surveillance Uncategorized

If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out.

The Guardian reports: Police want power to crack down on offensive demo chants and slogans

Present curbs are too light, Met chief to tell Goldsmith

This seems like nothing more than a power grab and an appeal to the right wing members sections of Britain that are incensed by these uppity sandal-wearing Lefties and Muslim types voicing their displeasure about various things.

The country’s biggest force, the Metropolitan police, is to lobby the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, because officers believe that large sections of the population have become increasingly politicised, and there is a growing sense that the current restrictions on demonstrations are too light.

It seems to me that Tony Blair’s government has recently freaked out about something which has been going on for quite a few years and that is issue politics. The populace seem generally apathetic about the political parties but a number are passionate about singular political issues be it marching in opposition to the Hunting Bill or demonstrating against the Iraq war etc. Also there has been a rise in political views being expressed online as the number of fora has increased where such views can be aired.

I think that they have freaked out because virtually all these views being expressed are anti-government. You’d be hard pressed to find any Joe Public commenter expressing a pro-Iraq opinion for example.

Most worrying is the following bit of it.

The police want powers to tackle a “grey area” in the array of public order laws. At present, causing offence by itself is not a criminal offence.

Causing offence is not a criminal offence and it never bloody well should be.

He talks about respecting freedom of speech.

We also need to think more laterally around how we police public demonstrations where ‘offence’ could be caused, while still respecting the British position around freedom of speech.

But this sounds like just a piece of management speak that means nothing.

But then I’m part of the problem not the solution aren’t I.

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Security Surveillance Uncategorized

UK Car Rentals to Require Fingerprints

Bruce Schneier has alerted us to the fact that in order to rent a car in the UK fingerprints will be now taken by the rental company.

It seems that the taking of biometric information is entering the mainstream and will likely become more and more commonplace.

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Surveillance Uncategorized

Britain: the most spied on nation in the world

Britain: the most spied on nation in the world

David Murakami Wood, from the Surveillance Studies Network, said: “Surveillance is not a malign plot hatched by evil powers to control the population.

“But the surveillance society has come about almost without us realising.”

He added: “With technologies that are large-scale, taken for granted and often invisible, surveillance is increasingly everywhere.

Privacy International: Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World ((Graphic depicting stats.))

See also http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/

Categories
Computing Security Surveillance

Identity Theft monitoring by Garlik

The BBC reports on a new service that is designed to help users reduce their risk of identity theft through a monitoring facility. The service is kind of like the constant surveillance of the Orwellian Big Brother but where the individual is in control of the surveillance upon themselves.

The Garlik Datapatrol service has been set up by the founders of the internet bank Egg with the intention of putting users back in control of the information that is held on them in public databases that are easily accessible through the internet.

The service brings together from the internet, public databases, and Credit Reports all the personal information it can find on a user and then displays it in a simple online format. Then on a monthly basis users will receive an update summary of additions or changes to their online profile as well as highlighting any risks or suspicious activity.

By facilitating individuals access to the information that is held on them the service puts its users on an equal footing with the criminals that might seek to steal their identities and as irregularities are often the first indication of a problem the monitoring system gives users an early warning and the possibility of nipping it in the bud before any negative consequences have occurred.

My only concerns are the security of Garlik’s database and the trustworthiness of the company. They seem to have a fairly robust system to establish user’s identity and to then authenticate users accessing the personal information gathered in the server database. But it presupposes that an individual’s identifying information hasn’t already been compromised or stolen.

I can see this service being a boon for identity theft rings who have enough data to register falsely for the service in order to further the scope of their thefts by letting Garlik do the legwork as it were in accruing further information.

Garlik’s secure servers would also be a prime target for criminals and so I would hope that they have taken the security of their servers as seriously as any bank would with theirs. Is the physical access to the servers as well secured as the online access is?

My second concern would be that as a new company they haven’t had the time to build a reputation or a record of establishment of trust. Registered users will be empowering the company and placing a lot of trust in the security of the service and the authenticity and accuracy of the personal information data provided to users. Having said that there is nothing to suggest that Garlik is in any way a disreputable company it is merely my natural paranoia.

I would have more faith in Garlik presently than I would in the UK government in securing any personal information I would give them.

Garlik are currently offering free trials to people signing up for the Datapatrol service at their website. http://www.garlik.com.

People with concerns about identity theft and security online should also take a look at the following website Get Safe Online which has been set up by banks and prominent internet companies.