Data watchdog put cops on naughty step for lost CCTV footage

The UK’s data watchdog has reprimanded Greater Manchester Police (GMP) force for losing CCTV footage the cop shop was later requested to retain. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the UK’s third largest police force had failed in its obligation to keep the personal data safe after an individual was held in custody …

[Naich]

If the consequences for "mislaying" footage is less than the consequences of the footage being seen, then it's a bit of a no brainer to accidentally lose it.

[JessicaRabbit]

It's not clear here if they lost it in the sense that they accidentally deleted it or that it was on a hard drive that went missing. The latter seems implied since the article talks about privacy implications but it's hard to imagine that external drives of some sort are used by the CCTV systems instead of the footage being recorded to some beefy centralised storage.

[Anonymous Coward]

You'd definitely not use something like a nickable usb drive because they tend to get nicked.

But some systems have removable drives in caddies so yeah, it's possible a drive has been lost, failed, overwritten etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

"it's possible a drive has been lost, failed, overwritten etc."

Possible, but improbable. The police have been in a hole of their own making for a while now, yet never seem to miss the opportunity to dig a little deeper, as in this case.

[Anonymous Coward]

I've worked with CCTV systems on and off for a couple of decades and it's not at all improbable, it's the most likely cause but people like a nice warm conspiracy theory that backs up their own prejudices.

[Anonymous Coward]

They have a duty to have a reliable and robust system. This is the danger with surveillance, it is not equitable if one party has control of what is available. Public CCTV should be public, i.e., anyone can view no ommissions. Private CCTV should be available to anyone featured in it.

[NoneSuch]

I think that fact that he was "falling down the stairs" while "slipping in the shower" and "fell into a cell door" during this time is the main point of the footage they wanted to see.

[Alan Brown]

Yes, it's amazing how many times CCTV was on the blink for the hour around an incident

[JimmyPage]

Total amount the claimant received:

£0.00. Exactly.

[PB90210]

Re: Total amount the claimant received:

£250 from 'You've Been Framed'

[tiggity]

The cynical might say "accidental loss" is doing a lot of heavy lifting

[Peter Galbavy]

Like Stockwell station 20 odd years ago, right?

[Mickey Porkpies]

the missing bit was

when he fell over and injured himself. Showed it was an accident honest Guv

[blu3b3rry]

Re: the missing bit was

Or perhaps the bit where he accidentally unfortunately slammed a desk drawer shut on his hand several times?

[M.V. Lipvig]

Re: the missing bit was

Hand? When did they stop slamming goolies in the desk drawer?

[Pascal Monett]

Cops

The last people you can trust to actually have proper data retention procedures.

Reminds me of that Yes Minister episode where Sir Humphry explains to Minister Hacker that they lost no end of embarrassing files.

[Wolfclaw]

Very handy GMP loses the exact footage the FOI wanted, seems they do this a lot or the cameras got broken or failed to download the video or never switched on and we all know it is to protect the UK Gestapo breaking the law or our rights !

[Alan Brown]

Who remembers the anecdote about the GMP serious crimes squad?

[MachDiamond]

"Very handy GMP loses the exact footage the FOI wanted, seems they do this a lot or the cameras got broken or failed to download the video or never switched on and we all know it is to protect the UK Gestapo breaking the law or our rights !"

Given the cost of those systems, the footage should all be in 8k and held redundantly in several different repositories, for century's. Oh yeah, WITH audio.

I get it that it's run by sidelined PC's that didn't go to school for that sort of thing. They can be even worse than jewelry shops that buy the cheapest CCTV kit on the planet and place the cameras where they have no hope of getting a clear shot of a robber inna hoodie. An odd note is that Walmart protects its Chinese tat with super high-def CCTV they can review on demand by trained security staff at the store. It looked like they can even track a person of concern over several cameras automatically. Stuff a pack of skids under your jumper and they'll catch you and be able to have the computer output a full multi-cam video with dramatic sound track to show in court.

[Evil Scot]

Not just GMP. BTP North is just as bad.

Sexual harassment victim reports crime on line.

Hears nothing.

Phones back later.

No record of report.

Reports it again.

It is now too late to request footage of suspected up Kilt photography from Northern Rail.

Icon = state of mind.

[Anonymous Coward]

Punish

This is not acceptable. The CCTV should be for both parties to ensure justice. The chief super should get a black mark on his record for this to set an example saying he/she/they/them/it cannot allow this to happen again, otherwise it has to be signed statements, checked by the defendent's lawyer only and the cctv recordings all marked inadmissable.