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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| UK Police Want To Install CCTVs In Pubs |
| 2009-02-22 |
| The Met Police got a short sharp rap over the knuckles yesterday, as the Office of the Information Commissioner questioned what looks very much like a blanket policy to force CCTV onto public houses in certain parts of London. The story begins with a letter to the Guardian last week, from Nick Gibson. He is currently renovating Islington pub The Drapers Arms, after its previous owners allowed it to go insolvent and then disappeared. In his letter, he argues that if he had merely taken over an existing licence, the police could not have imposed any additional conditions. However, because this was now a new licence, the police were able to make specific requests, including one particular request in respect of installing CCTV. Mr Gibson wrote: "I was stunned to find the police were prepared to approve, ie not fight, our licence on condition that we installed CCTV capturing the head and shoulders of everyone coming into the pub, to be made available to them upon request. There was no way that they could have imposed this on the previous licence holder." We spoke to the Police and to Islington Council. The Council were clear that this was not their policy: they would look at individual licence applications in the light of representations made to the Licensing Committee and decide on a case by case basis. It was left to the Met to confirm the existence of a blanket policy for some parts of London. A spokeswoman for the Met said: "The MPS overall does not have a policy of insisting CCTV is installed within licensed premises before supporting licence applications. "However, individual boroughs may impose blanket rules in support of their objectives to prevent crime and disorder and to assist the investigation of offences when they do occur. "Islington is one of the most densely populated districts for licensed premises in London and the borough's licensing authority is committed to providing a safe environment in which to socialise. "To this end, Islington police recommend all premises are required to install CCTV and make those images available to police upon request before a licence is granted." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 Why? Are people getting drunk in mosques? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-02-22 20:57 |
| #4 Wouldn't it be more practical to install them in MOSQUES? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-02-22 18:24 |
| #3 Do they want face recognition with that? Sure. It'll come in handy when Sharia is formally adopted. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-02-22 17:49 |
| #2 Waste of time and money. |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2009-02-22 16:39 |
| #1 Hmm - sensing profit opportunity... Do they want face recognition with that? Maybe 3D? Like its money and times are tough... |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-02-22 14:30 |