According to Freedom of Information Act expert Heather Brooke, on Monday's More4 TV documentary Suspect Nation:
Transport for London confirmed, in a Freedom of Information Act reply, that they do actually keep their London Congestion Charge cameras switched on all the time, even at night and weekends, i.e. when the Congestion Charge period does not apply , because "it would be too expensive to switch them over manually."
Are we seriously meant to believe that either a remote computer software command or a normal cheap, timeswitch, could not be fitted to these cameras, to restrict them to just the time period for which they are legally entitled to be used for the enforcement of the Congestion Charge ?
Does anyone really believe that this could not be done remotely or on a time switch ?
How much energy is being wasted by 700 CCTV cameras and at least 800 or so infrared floodlights being kept switched on all the time ?
Who has access to this data which is being collected and analysed at night and at weekends, for which there is no legal business reason to collect it ?
The program will be repeated on Wednesday 29th November 2006 at 10pm.
Hi,
I've posted the full response I recevied from Transport for London regarding the 24/7 operation of London's CC cameras.
You can find it at:
http://www.yrtk.org/secret-squirrel/tfl-cc-cameras
All the best,
Heather
The steady unchallenged creep of these cameras is frightening.
A funny side note to all this is, according to my local paper, Ken never got planning permission for all those ugly poles with cameras on top.
I know his powers probably override individual councils, but some councils (believe it or not!) do care about aesthetics. These cameras are ugly and sinister and no effort was made to hide that.
There are some streets still left in London with trees and acceptable amounts of street furniture. Ken has thrown these things up with disregard not only for planning permission - but for civic pride.
We make our environments, then they make us.