Members of the public are taking matters into their own hands as ex police chief provokes human rights campaigners. Liberty’s view is that the large-scale expansion of cameras watching the public in recent years poses a threat to our way of life...
Now imagine.... thousands - if not tens of thousands - of mobile traffic cameras on our roads.
Not fitted to high visibility police vehicles, but installed in private cars, rusty old vans, lorries making deliveries, and even public buses, coaches and taxis.
Controversial even in its name, PoliceWitness.com recruits and encourages ‘Visualantes’ to capture acts of dangerous driving on video and then report these incidents via a website. The reports are then forwarded to specific, dedicated contacts within each police force for consideration of prosecution or indeed (for better or worse, depending on your view) a stern letter.
The former ACC of Northamptonshire police, Alan Featherstone, was never far from controversy in his role as a senior police officer; however with front line policing cuts it would seem his private crusade in retirement is being met with public enthusiasm.
Ex-ACC Featherstone said: “Our research has indicated that people are simply not going to sit back during these policing cuts, the public want people who flout the law, and put the lives of others in jeopardy, held to account.”
He added “With fewer officers and working speed cameras on our streets I have personally already seen people’s driving styles change for the worse. Nearly every time I get into my car I see some idiot take a risk not just with their own life, but with others ... how many times have you witnessed a close call? ... Exactly my point ...”
The thought of Cameron’s Big Society springs to mind as so called ‘Police Witnesses’ take to our roads, cameras in hand, with justice in mind. However, for PoliceWitness.com, driving offences are just the start: the power of the digital video camera is immense when obtaining independent evidence of any crime, it’s like having thousands of unmarked police cars on our streets - organised crime and lawless youths beware!
Road related incidents aside, think about the immense amount of intelligence the police will obtain with literally thousands of evidential video clips being submitted from the general public. Police forces across the country are already interested in the opportunities which come from this initiative, with implications for use in Neighbourhood Policing as well as fighting crime.
But is it legal?
Yes, the fact is we all have a perfectly legitimate right to film or take pictures in public. So fear not.
DCI Nick Chalmers of the Metropolitan Police has seen at firsthand what organised crime has done to innocent victims, and to the insurance industry, and is well aware of the huge hikes in premiums which are a result of scams like ‘Crash for Cash’. He recently told the BBC that the wider use of vehicle borne cameras would bring a range of benefits to those using the UK’s roads, benefits that include a potential reduction in fraudulent insurance claims, an aid to police in the investigation of serious and fatal collisions and a reduction in dangerous and antisocial driving by road users who would now fear they could be caught on camera and potentially prosecuted.
So the next time you think about putting your foot down, using your mobile phone whilst driving ... or getting out of your car and hurling abuse at some poor unsuspecting road user, think on ... because you never know who is watching or, better still, recording you!
The business is explained in full at www.policewitness.com