Big Brother Watch’s newly-released data on £515m of council CCTV spending between 2007 and 2011 (covered by my colleague Sade Laja on Guardian Government Computing) is even more interesting when combined with population numbers. Obviously, camera spending per capita is not a perfect measure, as some areas clearly have security needs beyond those of their immediate populations. This would help to explain why Westminster is the biggest spender per head of population: £46.75 over the last four years, compared to a UK average of £8.27.
Continue reading “The biggest council CCTV spenders per resident: Westminster… then Tamworth”
Category: Councils
How Andrew Dilnot and social care might save the NHS
Promoters of social care reforms are claiming that they could mean significant savings on healthcare
Andrew Dilnot’s plans have since been considered, altered, then rejected by the government. Continue reading “How Andrew Dilnot and social care might save the NHS”
Collaborative public services: lessons from Northumberland
One council in the north-east has found numerous benefits from co-locating services including running parents young child groups at its fire stations
The north of England seems to see more collaborative public services than the south. This is a great example from Northumberland.
Continue reading “Collaborative public services: lessons from Northumberland”
A tale of two cameras
Data from two councils, a rural district and a London borough, suggests big differences in spending on CCTV
Using Freedom of Information to find council CCTV costs, usage and efficiency in two contrasting areas of England. More recently, I have mapped comprehensive data collected by Big Brother Watch on this subject.
The debate over the use of CCTV can be rather sterile. The police, local authorities and other parts of the public sector present them as a public good, there “for your safety and security” as station announcements phrase it. Continue reading “A tale of two cameras”
Oxfordshire reveals ANPR traffic camera sites
A council using automatic numberplate recognition to manage traffic has released the locations of the cameras, having previously refused to do so
Oxfordshire county council initially refused to provide the locations of its then-new ANPR traffic camera sites, but did so when I requested the data under Freedom of Information – to its credit, only nine days after I asked. Police forces have taken a somewhat less co-operative view on this subject. Continue reading “Oxfordshire reveals ANPR traffic camera sites”