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A Democratic Licence to Operate
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner
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The Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) was introduced under the Protection of
Freedoms Act 2012 with its role predominantly focused on raising awareness of, and
generating debate on, the use of CCTV in public spaces and other related issues. The Act
itself charges the commissioner to carry out three functions:
•
•
•
To encourage compliance with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice
To review the operation of the code
To provide advice about the code (including changes or breaches to it).
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The SCC works very closely with the ICO due to the data principles incorporated in the
Protection of Freedom Act. It is often difficult to determine the boundary with CCTV;
while some CCTV issues are clearly the responsibility of the SCC, there are broader
data-protection issues related to CCTV which were not anticipated by the Protection
of Freedoms Act.
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The SCC has no powers of inspection, enforcement or sanction; rather, the commissioner
works with relevant authorities to make them aware of their duties with regard to the
Surveillance Camera Code of Practice. The SCC has been charged with advising ministers
during the course of this year on the findings of his first year in office, and particularly
his assessment of the state of public-space CCTV and the compliance of those that fall
within the Act. This will also include whether or not the commissioner believes it is
correct for the role to have no sanctioning powers, and if the position of the SCC itself
should be reviewed.
Strengthening the Commissioners
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The varied focus of the commissioners and the occasional overlap in their activities
reflect the different legislation introduced over time defining each of their different
roles and responsibilities. This has created a regime in which some commissioners are
focused on institutions (InSeC) and some on techniques (for example, the interception
of communications).
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The commissioners are aware that they must be careful not to become advisory bodies
in addition to oversight and sanctioning bodies. IOCCO has raised concerns over agency
officials coming to it before they apply for warrants to check whether they are doing it
correctly. This can be a fine line; the agencies cannot seek a commissioner’s advice in
advance to ensure that they secure a warrant, but they are right to raise potential areas
of concern in advance. Ultimately, it will always depend on individual circumstances.51
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The current Intelligence Services Commissioner, Interception of Communications
Commissioner and the Chief Surveillance Commissioner are all former senior judges
51. ISR round-table with the commissioners, February 2015.