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Celebrating the humble plastic bag

218 surveillance cameras in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook areas of Birmingham – a network of 169 ANPR and 49 CCTV cameras – are being turned off until consultation with the local community has taken place. But just in case anyone thinks they're still being watched, plastic bags are being put over the cameras for good measure.

Plastic_bag Questions are being asked by the community as to the purpose of the scheme – euphemistically titled 'Project Champion'. The Police are claiming the cameras are for crime fighting, but people in the area are querying why two medium-sized districts in Birmingham require 170 sophisticated ANPR cameras. Now they're trying every trick in the book to justify their actions, as the BBC explains:

In a statement in April, the Safer Birmingham Partnerships (SBP) said it had received £3m from the Home Office to improve community safety and crime reduction in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook wards.

"Although the counter terrorism unit was responsible for identifying and securing central government funds and have overseen the technical aspects of the installation, the camera sites were chosen on the basis of general crime data – not just counter-terrorism intelligence," the SBP said on Thursday.

Due to the outcry raised by many residents of the area (do check out their campaign website), a consultation with the public will be held in order to decide the general feeling regarding the cameras. 

But hang on a minute, since when do the authorities need to hold consultations for CCTV cameras? We’ve certainly never been consulted on most of the cameras that now litter our streets.

Maybe it's time we started bagging the cameras we don’t like until we get consulted? If it's good enough for the Brum police.

Finally, a use for that cupboard full of ‘for life’ bags…

By Emma Corkill

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Big Brother Watch Posted in CCTV
  • Purlieu

    Please research the actual “bags” to be used.
    You do know that ANPR uses UV not visible light, which passes right through lots of visible opaque materials.
    I’d hate to think we are being misled here.

  • Redacted

    They put those spiky (anti-climb) collars around the posts for a reason you know.
    I can confirm that nobody asked my opinion about CCTV either. It just arrived. First there was one, no outcry, then there were two, no outcry, then there were some more, no outcry, then there were lots more, I say steady on chaps enough is enough, ha ha, then they were everywhere…
    I have often daydreamed about what might be the correct type of bag to use for this purpose (non-biodegradable), and have even, in my mind, invented DIY gadgets for applying said bags without the aid of a cherry picker. Thought crime or what?

  • NeverSurrender

    What an excellent use for plastic bags. And I used to think of them as littler when I saw them stuck up trees. If they were stuck over CCTV cameras I could quite easily learn to celebrate the sight.

  • http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119180531441911&v=wall Steve Jolly

    For an inside track and the latest news on the Birmingham Spy Cam row visit the campaign’s facebook page:
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119180531441911&v=wall
    There are more revelations to come. The police lied to councillors about the scope, scale and true purpose of the scheme and where the funding was coming from. The police also dismissed legitimate questions from councillors over the targeting of the communities affected. Complaints are being lodged with the IPCC today. Birmingham City Council appear to have control over the actions of West Midlands Police or the Safer Birmingham Partnership, who between them conspired to hoodwink Birmingham’s elected representatives into not opposing Project Champion – by dressing it up and disguising it as something else.
    - Steve Jolly, Campaign Organiser.

  • Steve Jolly

    Correction: the sentence above should have read, “Birmingham City Council appear to have NO control over the actions of West Midlands Police or the Safer Birmingham Partnership.”

  • Kevin

    Harriet Harman take note.
    Communities are NOT desperate to have CCTV.

  • Leynos

    @Purlieu
    Would an Ikea canvas bag do the trick do you think?

  • Purlieu

    Don’t know, you’d need to test it, UV is funny stuff, it tends to go through things you wouldn’t expect e.g. 1/4 inch thick black plastic tiles

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