Fury over ‘attack on liberties’ as Newcastle pioneers a tracking scheme that could catch on
Lorna Martin
Sunday October 16, 2005
The Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1593204,00.html
A network of hi-tech cameras capable of tracking the movements of every car could become a feature of cities across Britain. The North East is set to become the first region to introduce a controversial system which automatically records information about every vehicle passing through Newcastle and the surrounding area.
The scheme, which has provoked a heated debate with critics saying it smacks of Big Brother tactics and raises questions about individual freedom, could give a glimpse into the future of driving in Britain.
Under the plans, automatic number plate recognition cameras, similar to those now used by police to trace the 8.5 million cars which are untaxed, uninsured or suspected to be involved in criminal or terrorist activity, would be situated throughout Tyne and Wear and administered by the local council. Other local authorities are understood to be considering introducing similar systems.
The aim of the £1million Newcastle scheme, unveiled last week, is to gather information about the frequency and distance of journeys made by drivers in the area and to explore the possibility of road user charging.
‘When a car enters the network, the camera records the number plate, and then when the car shows up somewhere else on the network it cancels itself out,’ said Greg Stone, the council’s executive member for transport. ‘It means we can get a picture of how many people are doing very short journeys.’
He insisted identifying information on motorists would not be stored. ‘We are not tracking identity. We are simply tracking vehicles to establish journey patterns.’
But critics of congestion charging warned a number-plate logging system was a step closer to a fully-fledged road-pricing network. They also expressed concerns about infringements of individual privacy.
Martin Callanan, the MEP for North East England, said there were huge implications for civil liberties: ‘This is a huge intrusion by the state into people’s everyday lives, and it is all being done by stealth.
‘My main concern is that this system is, in effect, recording where everybody has been in their car in Tyneside at any time of the day or night. This information will be stored on a local council computer, and I fear we are a short step away from when that is linked to the DVLA system and the council will know where every individual person is, day or night. There are huge civil liberty implications.’
His concerns were echoed by many drivers in the city. George Naisbitt, the managing director of a taxi company, said politicians were ‘hell-bent’ on driving people out of their cars and on to public transport.
‘They are making it as difficult as possible for drivers to get into the town. The government is trying desperately to get the British public to give up their cars. But I don’t think they realise it is a task akin to un-inventing the wheel. They are living on cloud-cuckoo land if they think people are going to leave their cars at home and stand in a queue for a bus or a train or a metro that does not come on time,’ said Naisbitt.
He had no problem with police CCTV cameras which ringed the city centre. ‘They serve a useful purpose: fighting and tackling crime. But this new scheme is just about monitoring private individuals in their cars.’
Neil Quinn, 23, a metallurgist, said he objected to the idea of his movements being monitored: ‘I feel you can’t do anything on the road without people knowing about it. It feels like an invasion of privacy. You get into your car to get away from things.’
Despite their concerns, motoring organisations said it was inevitable that more CCTV cameras would crop up across Britain in the future.
Kevin Delaney, an RAC road safety adviser, said there would be much more monitoring and control of drivers in the years ahead.
‘Much of it will be benign. Drivers are prepared to trade a bit of privacy to be able to know the shortest route from A to B. The idea of all these hi-tech cameras and such close monitoring takes a bit of getting used to. In 20 or 30 years, people will wake up and book a slot on the M1. This monitoring system is the first step.’
