Oxford Council put CCTV taxi plan on hold

Oxford City Council is to enter another phase of consultation over plans to install audio and video surveillance in the city’s taxis.

The council had faced widespread opposition both from drivers and privacy campaigners who were concerned about the use of recorded conversations between passengers.

Last month the council also faced questions from the Information Commissioners Office who expressed concerns that the plans could breach the Data Protection Act.

In a report submitted to the council on 28 May, councillors explain that the ICO have issued a Preliminary Enforcement Notice and that initial support from the City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA) and the Oxford Private Hire Association appeared to have been superseded by concerns from “a number of self-employed drivers”.

“In late March 2012, despite the earlier broad support from the licensed trade, a number of self-employed drivers submitted a petition to the Licensing Authority opposed to the introduction of audio & visual recording. It was clear at this point that the consensus evident earlier was no longer in place.”

The report continues, “Recent representations have shown that there are still misconceptions abroad and there may be advantages to all parties in extending exploration, discussion and consultation. Further discussion and consultation may also allow options to be identified which address the concerns of the ICO.”

The council will now enter a further period of consultation aimed at asking “the question as to whether either or both types of recording should be introduced.”

Defending the plans, a former chairman of COLTA, Alan Woodward, said, “I had drivers in my office complaining about being attacked by passengers. We also had people complaining to the police about being attacked by drivers.”

In other cities, including London, many cabs already operate voluntary video surveillance systems in order to protect the driver from robberies. The audio element of the system is not generally used in cabs due to similar privacy concerns as those expressed by the ICO.

The presence of cameras is clearly indicated by labels on the taxi informing passengers – again largely to ensure the protection of drivers as a deterrent to thieves.

iCapture CCTV & Security Solutions have provided solutions for Transport for London (TfL) such as the Smartwitness vehicle CCTV system.

A spokesperson said, “TFL approved the Smart witness systems being fitted and in no way endorse them. There are 2 issues here – video and audio – and they need to be treated as separate.

“The particular issues around taxis and CCTV will come down to a person’s right to privacy whilst travelling in a private hire or hackney vehicle. We don’t offer an audio facility as CCTV is 99% of the time admissible in evidence in the majority of criminal cases without being more intrusive to a person’s privacy.

“In general CCTV is a widely accepted part of UK society and with the increases in insurance fraud, and other larger vehicles such as buses and coaches being fitted with CCTV, the debate should be are Taxis any different.”

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles called on Oxford City Council to abandon further consultation and “drop this intrusive, illiberal policy before any more damage is done to Oxford’s reputation.”

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