Pub trade keeps close watch on CCTV powers

The issue of security cameras in pubs and whether they should become compulsory has become increasingly pointed after a dispute surrounding the Drapers Arms in Islington.

The Drapers Arms reluctance to accept a police request for the installation of CCTV resulted in an intervention from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) which describes its brief as being to “promote access to official information and to protect personal information”. The ICO said that installing CCTV in pubs with no history of criminal activity could breach data protection requirements. The ICO also expressed its concerns about the upcoming ‘mandatory alcohol retailing code’ which could see local councils insisting on pubs in particular areas having CCTV. The ICO said that it would be proactively raising this issue with the government. For its part, the Drapers Arms is no longer being required to install CCTV after the police listened to the ICO’s concerns.

The issue of who decides on whether or not to have CCTV at a premise is increasingly becoming a countrywide debate. The Guardian reported, on Monday, that Northampton police request that all licensed premises open after midnight have CCTV and it is also a requirement in some London boroughs. Equally, the same report found that it is not – so-to-speak - a black and white issue, as it recorded some regulars, and also the manager of an Essex pub, expressing their support for CCTV. The police in Essex were also reported as saying that most landlords were in favour of security cameras. However the debate pans out, it seems clear that pubs are going to be the front line of determining whether increased technology and security will inevitably lead to unwelcome intrusion and a ‘surveillance society’.

www.ico.gov.uk

18 March 2009