Changing views on surveillance

When it comes to the use of measures such as CCTV and ID cards the approach taken by individual countries has, in the past, been markedly different.  Recent developments however suggest a growing convergence in approach.

In France for example the use of ID cards - although not compulsory - is a long established practice whereas, until relatively recently, CCTV was tightly controlled, driven by a desire to uphold privacy.  When it comes to Britain the experience is very much the reverse, where we have a long track record of CCTV being applied on a wide scale, including for public space surveillance, but where ID cards are only now being investigated for possible introduction in 2009.

With the growth of the threat of terrorism - above and beyond normal criminality - I believe that we will start to see more common ground, particularly in Europe, regarding the approach taken to such measures.

For the French, events such as 7/7 in London - and the acknowledged value of CCTV evidence - have made them think again about CCTV restrictions and the balance between security and personal freedoms.  A bill introduced at the end of 2005 opened up the use of CCTV in public areas, including the transport network.  This should result in the number of CCTV cameras growing significantly from only 60,000 a relatively small installed base compared with the UK figure of over 4 million.

On the ID card front, the French have decided to make their latest ID cards compulsory and incorporate biometric data, which parallels what the UK Government is planning to do.

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