Clippings (March 1998)Clippings (March 1998)By Marrianne Sumner (T&A 4/3/98)
Almost 2,500 drivers have been fined a total of £84,000 by being caught on camera jumping red traffic lights in Bradford in only nine months.
Now Bradford Council - which paid out £80,000 for the cameras from its hard pressed budget - is pressing Home Secretary Jack Straw to bring in new legislation which would allow it to keep the proceeds which go to the Government. Highways chiefs say the money could be used to bring in other safety measures. Current legislation means the fines have to be paid to central Government in the same way as parking penalties.
Today Councillor Latif Darr, chairman of the transportation, planning and design committee, said: "We want legislation which would allow us to cut even more accidents by installing more schemes. In this case we would want a proportion to go to the police because they are using resources to enforce it."
Deputy chairman Councillor Jack Womersley said: "We have paid a lot of money and are pleased with its success. But we will be contacting Mr Straw because we feel in instances where local authorities have paid for schemes they should get some of the proceeds."
Four cameras were installed at junctions around the city last year in a bid to reduce the number of injuries caused by accidents. Police say so far 2,476 motorists have been caught on camera and asked to pay a £40 fixed penalty fine.
Sergeant Keith Cluderay, of Odsal police, said: "Nobody knew what it would bring in. The first camera went in at Manchester Road and for the first two months it went crazy but word gets round and then it eases back a bit. Now it's a steady stream.''
The four cameras are positioned:
Bradford is one of the most fore-running authorities in West Yorkshire when it comes to operating the cameras - in Leeds there are no such cameras and Wakefield operates only one
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: "In general, if fines go to central Government then they will simply go to the Treasury to be divided up in the budget. In some cases, traffic fines are collected by the local authority and in those instances the money will be kept by the local authority. We realise that it's a key consideration that transport-based fines should be spent on transport-based problems but any review would have to be in line overall Government policy."
The number of accidents so far is not dramatically down but police say they are pleased to see them becoming less serious. On Manchester Road there are between five and seven crashes each year.
By Olwen Vasey (T&A 6/3/98)
Residents across the district will be asked to give their views on "eye in the sky" closed circuit television schemes. Bradford Council will work alongside the police, and other agencies to carry out a review of CCTV operating in Bradford, Keighley, Bingley and Shipley
The Council says crime has slumped in car parks since the systems were installed and wants to look at the possibility of extending the system in the city centre with a "nerve centre" where the cameras could be monitored in City Hall. But the 1 in 12 private members club in the city centre says there is no proof it does not simply displace crime, and there has been little consultation with the public.
A major part of the review in summer will include listening to the views of people living and working in the area to discover how well the system works and how it can be improved. The Council says information will soon be available about how people can have a say. The Council's first Community Safety Policy Officer, Sharmila Ghandi, is co-ordinating the review and says she wants to be sure CCTV is operating as part of an integrated package of crime prevention measures.
Chairman of the Council's community safety sub committee Councillor John Ruding said although the systems were an effective tool in fighting crime it was not the only way to tackle it.
"CCTV systems should be well coordinated and part of an integrated package of measures to make people feel safer. In a city centre, for example, in addition to CCTV there should be good lighting, Pub Watch schemes, Door Safe schemes, where night club door staff are trained and vetted by the police, radio link systems and pro active policing."
Coun Ruding said the purpose of the review was to find out how CCTV benefited the area where it was installed and consider future development. The findings will be considered at a special conference on fighting crime in the district in late autumn.
Matt Hannan, a 1 in 12 club member, welcomed the review. But he said: "It seems they are already predisposed to the outcome. It seems a bit like putting the horse before the cart. We have always said there should be a proper evaluation."
Editorial - (T&A 6/3/98)
The Council's plan to find out what the Bradford public really think of CCTV cameras should help to settle any arguments about their perceived desirability and usefulness - assuming, of course, that councillors can convince the public that, unlike the so-called consultation exercise over charging for on-street parking, this is no sham.
The Council believes that these "spy in the sky" cameras are an important weapon in the fight against crime. So do the police. And so does this newspaper, with one reservation.
One of the main arguments about CCTV is that it invades privacy - that people have a right not to be watched and filmed without their knowledge. in an ideal world that view would deserve, and win, wide support. But unfortunately it is a world in which many people feel beleaguered and are glad of almost anything which they feel will help to defeat the criminals.
Consequently they are prepared to compromise their right to privacy and instead accept the view that those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear.
The worry is, given recent developments in the world of so-called entertainment, that some of the scenes recorded by these cameras around the country are now finding their way into the wrong hands and are being used on commercially-produced videos.
That is a disgraceful development, a real betrayal of public trust. Any expansion of CCTV operations in Bradford must be accompanied by security measures to ensure that none of the tapes are used to provide money-making laughs or thrills.
(T&A 14/3/98)
Work to install crime-busting closed circuit television cameras in Shipley is well under way.
Workmen were due to move into Otley Road this week after laying ducts in Stead Street. From Otley Road they will move into Westgate and then Market Square and Wellcroft. It is anticipated the cameras will be operating by the end of April.
Councillor Tony Miller (Lab, Shipley East) said: "CCTV is a very positive move for Shipley Traders are wanting to come into the town and this will give them the confidence to feel safe.
"The cameras will deter opportunist crime and will also assure shoppers."
Five high-definition colour cameras will be installed in Market Square, Wellcroft, Westgate and Fox's Corner. The £14,000 project has been funded with donations from businesses, Bradford Council and Metro.
Letters, T&A (10 March 1998)
Sir,- Supporters of public "Spy" cameras continue to trot out the well worn phrase "if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear".
You may be aware that this particular phrase was brought into popular use by the former East German STASI (Secret police), who used it to justify almost any intrusion - video surveillance, bugging, phone tapping, mail interception etc.
It’s a phrase that has a certain circular logic. It implies that only those with "something to hide" need fear these intrusions, and so by extension anyone who objects must have something to hide - so they ought to be put under surveillance!
The same sort of circular logic used to be applied to alleged witches in the Middle Ages. They were thrown into a pond and if they sank and drowned, they were judged innocent. But if they floated, then they were guilty and were burnt at the stake.
Anthony Taylor, 1 in 12 Club, Albion St., Bradford
(Letters, T&A 20/3/98)
SIR - Street cameras are what the public want and they welcome, not oppose, them (Letters, March 14).
Although a vocal but very, very small minority do not want street cameras, the vast majority of the public welcome them and wish to see the Council schemes extended. At a well-attended Queensbury Neighbourhood Forum, the question was asked and all supported street cameras.
Why do people support street cameras?
It is because they are controlled by local authority councillors and monitored by local authority workers. The Council has a code of practise for the cameras and the tapes. Tapes are usually wiped at the end of a seven-day period if not required for police and evidence.
The Council still seeks the public's view on street cameras as it moves towards a full consultation period later this year.
Councillor Jack Womersley, Hainsworth Moor Garth, Queensbury.
by PAUL PARKER, Business Editor (T&A 25/3/98)
A Bradford firm has attracted more than 1,500 people to the city by hosting the UK's largest closed circuit television exhibition.
Southern & Redfern, which has recently branched out into the CCTV market, is staging the event at Valley Parade - the home of Bradford City.
The event is on Wednesday, April 8, from 10am to 6pm. It will give an insight into how CCTV systems can benefit companies and organisations across a wide spectrum of activities.
As well as Southern & Redfern, exhibitors taking part include Phillips, Panasonic, Dedicated Motors, Scantronic and many other CCTV experts.
Lee Horton, managing director of Southern & Redfern Electrical, said.. "CCTV has made its name in security use, but that is only a small aspect Of the commercial benefits it can offer businesses of all types. In applications such as lone working or remote site working, managers can ensure the safety of their employees by constantly monitoring for accidents or other incidents.
"We have also completed CCTV projects which work as early fire detection systems. If the remote camera picks up an image of smoke or fire, it immediately alerts the appropriate authorities.
"Additionally, one of the fastest growing areas of CCTV is process and manufacturing control.
"The CCTV cameras can watch and record entire manufacturing processes to identify problem areas on the line."
The exhibition will also be the launchpad for a number of products, including laser and microwave relay transmitters, remote monitors and PC based CCTV systems.
Further details about the event are available from Southern & Redfern on (01274) 733333.
Security cameras 'distorting justice'
SECURITY cameras, which have proliferated in banks, shops and city streets, may be be of limited value in catching criminals and could lead to miscarriages of justice, psychologists have found.
A study of people's capacity to recognise faces captured on poor- quality video footage have shown that the process is "remarkably error prone".
Even when high-quality images were used people failed to make correct identifications. In research at the University of Stirling, participants were given photos of a target face taken from a broadcast-quality video recording and asked to match it with high-quality studio photos of ten people of the same age and sex. The ten photos included one of the target face with a slightly different expression.
Over 20 per cent of the participants failed to identify the target face correctly even when the picture was taken with the subject looking straight at the camera. This rose to 30 per cent when the head was turned slightly to one side.
Professor Vicki Bruce, of the Department of Psychology at the University, told the British Psychological Society's annual conference at Brighton that the findings showed that people's capacity to recognise faces was much poorer than had been thought.
"We were doing experiments to compare human vision with computer vision and we expected human vision to be near perfect under these conditions. I have been researching face recognition for 25 years and I was surprised by the error rate."
The findings show that security cameras do not provide a fail-safe method of catching criminals and must be backed by other methods. Two different images of a stranger may look no more alike to some observers than two images of different but similar people.
Professor Bruce said: "We have to be worried about the evidence of our own eyes. We have to be very cautious indeed that we don't think a resemblance between two images of a person means they are the same person."
Although it was well-known that people's memory for faces was poor, it was not known that even with a high-quality picture in front of them people might fail to make a correct identification.
Professor Bruce cited the case of Michael Groce whose mother Cherry Groce was shot dead by police when they raided her Brixton in 1988 looking for him in connection with a robbery at a building society. Michael Groce was prosecuted on the basis of a security- camera image which showed a young black man. He was acquitted when an expert for the defence raised doubts about the identification of the video image.
Security-camera recordings were most useful when the person filmed was known to the observer, Professor Bruce said, adding: "We are not good at discriminating strangers' faces but we are very good at doing so with people who are familiar to us."
She added that the power of television programmes such as Crimewatch in solving cases depended on someone who knew the suspect recognising them and coming forward.
Computers were good at verifying that a person was who they said they were but there was a long way to go before they could identify which of 1,000 faces was the one before them.
"Computers can't outperform human vision. They are disrupted by lighting and angle just as we are."
(T&A 31/3/98)
A shopper is considering legal action against supermarket giant Morrisons after her purse was taken by pickpockets.
Elizabeth Hovska claims the city centre Westgate store has no video cameras operating or warning signs telling people to be on their guard.
"I was carrying my shoulder bag and it was closed, but they still managed to take my purse, which contained £60 in cash, credit cards and my house keys," she said.
Miss Hovska, who lives in Heaton, has written to the company asking for compensation for her loss and the problems the theft has caused.
"I was very shaken afterwards. I only get £75 a week invalidity benefit so the loss of £60 is serious,'' she said. "I also had to change the locks at home because my house keys were taken as well."
Miss Hovska, who suffers from a food allergy syndrome, claims a second woman reported a purse theft about 10 minutes later.
"I am considering legal action against the store. I think it's disgusting they don't have sufficient security measures against thefts and they don't warn people. I have since talked to two other people who had their purses stolen at the store and I would like to hear from anyone else."
Her solicitor, Jaroslaw Stachiw, of Stachiw and Bashir, said: "I have written a letter of complaint to Morrisons and I am surprised a store of this type has no surveillance cameras."
A Morrisons spokesman declined to reveal how many similar incidents had happened in the store but said: "We don't have a persistent problem."
She confirmed the store had no surveillance cameras or signs warning of pickpockets but added: "Shoppers are reminded of the need to be vigilant and look after their personal belongings, via in-store, taped announcements which are played at least every hour.
"In addition trolleys carry special stickers reinforcing the crime prevention message." She said Miss Hovska's letter was in the hands of company solicitors.
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