Home Office to clamp down on car tracking cameras

The ANPR cameras record 10 million motorist movements every day

Home secretary Theresa May has announced that a national network of car tracking cameras must be regulated more stringently.

The Guardian reported that the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will be reviewed as part of a wider reappraisal of counter-terrorism laws expected to be completed by the autumn.

The network of cameras, which like CCTV had grown under the last government without proper scrutiny, logs more than 10 million motorist movements every day, according to the report.

The accompanying police database currently holds a whopping 7.6 billion motorist records, including number plate, location, date, time and a photograph of the front of the vehicle.

Regulations could include establishing the lawful right for the police to collect and retain ANPR data, define how long it should be kept, how widely it should be used and who should have access to the information.

The police could also be forced to disclose more information on the location and number of the cameras, which now stands at roughly 4,000.

Home Office minister James Brokenshire told The Guardian that, although CCTV and ANPR can be crucial tools in combating crime, the "growth in their use has been outside a suitable governance regime".

"To ensure that these important technologies continue to command the support and confidence of the public and are used effectively, we believe that further regulation is required," he added.

"We are examining a number of options, and will be considering the work of the interim CCTV regulator who is due to report to ministers shortly."

The move is part of the coalition government's attempts to fulfil both parties' pre-election promises to boost civil liberties and data privacy after a Labour government that had overseen a gradual erosion in both, according to Downing Street.

Human rights group Liberty had already stated its intention to mount a legal challenge to the ANPR surveillance system after news of its existence broke.