Cop cameras break law in small UK Town

(BBC): A police force must stop using number plate recognition technology after a warning from the UK's data watchdog. The Information Commissioner's Office said Hertfordshire Constabulary's use of cameras in and around the town of Royston was in breach of the law. It said the force had failed to carry out required privacy impact checks. The ICO's ruling may have wider significance for the gathering of number plate data in the UK. "It is difficult to see why a small, rural town such as Royston requires cameras monitoring all traffic in and out of the town 24 hours a day," said Stephen Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement.

"The use of ANPR [automatic number plate recognition] cameras and other forms of surveillance must be proportionate to the problem it is trying to address.After detailed inquiries, including consideration of the information Hertfordshire Constabulary provided, we found that this simply wasn't the case in Royston."

The ICO added that the use of seven cameras had made it impossible for motorists to drive into the town without a record being kept of the journey. It noted the scheme had become known locally as "the ring of steel".

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