Issue - meetings

Following consideration of a report of the Group Manager for Corporate Property and Commercial Assets, the Community Policy Development Group has made the following recommendations to Cabinet for a recommendation to Council:

a)    The CCTV Code of Practice be adopted; and

b)    The CCTV Policy be adopted; and

c)    The CCTV Action Plan be adopted.

Following consideration of a report of the Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change, the Community Policy Development Group had made the following recommendations to Cabinet for a recommendation to Council:

a)    The CCTV Code of Practice be adopted; and

b)    The CCTV Policy be adopted; and

c)    The CCTV Action Plan be adopted.

The Cabinet Member for Community Well-Being outlined the contents of the report stating that the Council owned public space CCTV and a wide range of other smaller surveillance systems operated across council business areas.  The code set out the governance arrangements that all surveillance schemes operated by the authority must comply with.  He outlined the main specific and explicit purposes of MDDC surveillance camera systems across all operational areas and highlighted that the Council’s Senior Responsible Officer and the Single Point of Contact may after consultation with the Data Protection Officer draw up other explicit purposes for specific deployments based on local concerns.  He explained the details of the live funding bid.

Consideration was given to:

·         The need for any funding bid to be finalised prior to the PCC elections in May

·         The possible use of CCTV to combat fly-tipping and dog fouling

·         Bodycams were not included in the policy

·         The need for the policy to be flexible

·         How CCTV would be used in the main towns and whether the bid for funding covered all the main towns in the district

Reason for the decision: There is a need to have an updated CCTV code of practice and policy in line with legislation.

Note:  *Report previously circulated, copy attached to minutes.

To receive the Use of CCTV Policy and Guidance from the Group Manager for Property Services and Commercial Assets

The Group had before it a *report of the Group Manager for Corporate Property and Commercial Assets setting out the CCTV Code of Practice, the CCTV Policy and the Action Plan.

The officer outlined the contents of the report and explained that the Tiverton CCTV system was funded, in part, by financial contributions from Tiverton Town Council and that the other funding came from operational budgets.

He explained that there were ongoing financial pressures which were detailed in the action plan and that a capital bid was ongoing with the Police Commissioner to address shortfalls with the Tiverton Town CCTV system.

Consideration was given to:

·         Members requests that CCTV cameras be installed in the stairwells of the multi storey car park;

·         Mobile cameras could only be installed if there was a pressing need and their deployment would be subject to a risk assessment which included a specific set of criteria;

·         The single point of contact (SPOC) and the Governance Manager would complete a risk assessment before mobile cameras could be deployed;

·         The CCTV camera’s in the multi storey car park were at end of life and did not produce good quality pictures and would be replaced with high quality alternatives;

·         The code of practice did not include the automatic use of body cams for District Officers and that any proposed use of these would need a data protection impact assessment. The ICO guidance stated that use of any cameras had to be proportionate and reasonable. This was especially hard to justify if they were fitted with an audio recording facility.

Therefore it was RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that it recommends to Council that:

a)    The CCTV Code of Practice be adopted; and

b)    The CCTV Policy be adopted; and

c)    The CCTV Action Plan be adopted.

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the Decision – To ensure that the principles, purposes, operation and management adopted by the main public space CCTV system is mirrored across the whole of MDDC’s service delivery operational area’s.

Note: *report previously circulated and attached to the minutes