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Landlord wins battle to keep CCTV out of his pub
Georgina Littlejohn12.03.09
A landlord has won the right not to install CCTV cameras in his pub after he argued that it would threaten drinkers' civil liberties.
Nick Gibson was told by police that he would have to install the security cameras when he applied for a licence for the Draper's Arms in Barnsbury Street, Islington.
But after the Information Commissioner's Office intervened, the police dropped their case and Mr Gibson was granted his licence.
The office told the Metropolitan Police that the blanket introduction of CCTV in pubs "raised serious privacy issues" and added: "We recognise that CCTV plays an important role in the prevention and detection of crime and can help to reduce crime.
"However we are concerned at the prospect of landlords being forced into installing CCTV in pubs as a matter of routine in order to meet the terms of a licence."
A police spokeswoman said the force would still continue to call for the installation of CCTV as a proviso for the granting of all future licences.
Reader views (8)
At last.Joe Public gets one in. Winston fights back.
- Victor, essex,Great(sic) Britain
Well done, Nick. It's even worse in parts of Hampstead. The police have even installed microphones outside pubs to monitor your words-and are desperately trying to keep this fact secret. No. I'm not paranoid. It's true.
- Nick (Expat), Hong Kong
A small victory. Keep fighting back.
- Trunk, US
"..CCTV plays an important role in the prevention and detection.."
Not sure that is true? It only means that people can sit there and watch it happening!
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
You want to try and be a football fan, between the age of 14-60 who dresses casually......the police stand and film you with handheld cameras in the ground, in the pub, on the train, in the street, not just at games where there is potential trouble.
They even film goal celebrations to see if there is a crime taking place!!!!
But i can see why they are so obsessed with cameras as without them, they are lost, utterly clueless
- Lb, London
Great news! The police have started mandating that some bars and clubs scan and store images of a form of identity for every single customer entering the establishment (case in point: Shunt Lounge) - this is a gross infringement of civil liberties and we need to see more action being taken to stop these ridiculous conditions being applied. Aside from anything else, does a bar manager really have the right technical and legal expertise to ensure that the data is stored in a secure manner and that it is kept in a legally compliant manner?
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall
CCTV is a menace, an abrogation of our privacy, a money-making scheme for voyeurs. Crime is entirely unaffected by the presence of CCTV, but our right to be ignored has been ruled out by their ubiquitous presence.
- Neil M., london uk,
Good for him, can we now see this position extended further please !
- Dave, London
