West Midlands Police were 'arrogant and bone-headed' over spy cameras
Jul 7 2010 by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post
West Midlands Police have been condemned as “arrogant” and “bone-headed” after the force was humiliated over plans to install secret spy cameras in Birmingham neighbourhoods with large Muslim populations.
MP Roger Godsiff (Lab Hall Green), whose constituency includes many of the wards where cameras were to be introduced, made the comments after police were forced into a humiliating climb down.
Home Office Ministers have confirmed that the original plan was to send feeds from the cameras directly to West Midlands Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit, as well as to ordinary officers based at Stechford Police Station.
But although counter-terrorism officers will now be excluded from the camera feeds, details of vehicle movements will still be sent to a national police database in London, where they can be accessed by security services and forces across the country.
Police have now launched a belated consultation campaign to ask residents in Washwood Heath, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill and Moseley whether they want the force to install 169 automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras and 49 CCTV cameras in their neighbourhoods, as part of a controversial operation called Project Champion.
The force has already backed down over plans to include 72 hidden cameras in the scheme, following a wave of local anger as it became clear the scheme was designed to counter terrorism rather than fight crime.
The project was funded by a £3 million grant from Home Office Terrorism and Allied Matters fund, which pays for anti-terror operations.
Critics claimed the police were stigmatising sections of the community by placing the cameras in areas with a large Muslim population rather than choosing locations based on crime rates.
And earlier this week, West Midlands Police announced that all the covert cameras would be removed and pledged: “The Counter Terrorism Unit will no longer have any involvement with the scheme”.
But information will still be sent to the ANPR National Data Centre in Hendon, North London, where it may be used to track the movement of vehicles by security services and police forces nationally.
Mr Godsiff said he believed many residents would welcome CCTV cameras, if the aim was to fight crime.
He said: “Police need to tell people what type of camera has been placed at the end of their road and ask whether they want to keep it there.
“I think you’ll find that many people say they actually do want CCTV cameras, to help reduce problems like anti-social behaviour and vandalism. But it has to be their choice.
“If the police had done this in the beginning them the furore we have seen would never have happened.
“But the police can sometimes be quite bone-headed about things.
“The fact that they didn’t speak to the MPs was typical of their arrogance and bone-headedness, and I say that as someone who supports the police.”
Local councillor Salma Yaqoob (Respect Sparkbrook) said: “I am glad the commitment has been given to end the involvement of the Counter Terrorism Unit.
“There are some streets in my ward where people are crying out for CCTV cameras if they are going to be used to fight crime.”
