Royston, Hertfordshire is a sleepy and historic market-town in England with very little crime. It is also the proud owner of seven Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras covering every route in and out of the community.

The cameras have been in use since 1990 and provide police with alerts for untaxed, uninsured and / or suspect vehicles. These cameras, previously used only on main roads and motorways, will log the registration of every vehicle passing through and store them in a national database for two to five years.

Opponents such as pressure groups Big Brother Watch, Privacy International and No CCTV describe the move as “grossly disproportionate”, an invasion of privacy and unlawful.

They have written to the Ministry of Love Information Commissioner’s Office challenging the legality of the cameras’ installation and that it breaches the Data Protection Act.

Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, explains:

“It is such an arbitrary and intrusive method. To do this in what is essentially a sleepy market town is ridiculous. Logging the movements of tens of thousands of innocent people living in the area is grossly disproportionate to the crime fighting abilities of the system and an abhorrent invasion of people’s privacy.”

O’Brien Inspector Andy Piper, Hertfordshire Police’s ANPR manager, defends the implementation of the ANPR scheme in Royston:

“On first sight, the ANPR coverage of such a low crime town as Royston may seem an unusual choice, but ANPR works both as a deterrent and a detection tool. When we look at the bigger picture in terms of Hertfordshire, as well as nationally, the position of the cameras makes a lot of sense strategically to target those criminals travelling into the county on the main roads in that area – not to mention counter-terrorism.”

The cameras were funded by local council and business groups in Royston with the goal of protecting Royston’s 15,000 residents from criminals in neighboring counties and on the junctures of several main roads surrounding the community. The cameras, Inspector Piper claims, are “entirely lawful”.

However, opponents to the scheme are quick to point out that there is no parliamentary legislation, oversight or debate controlling the application of these cameras, giving them a certain Orwellian aspect not unlike the U.S.’s TSA or Department of Homeland Security.

On the other hand, police claim the ANPR cameras have helped secure thousands of criminal convictions and that 9 out of 10 Royston residents support the scheme.

By Tristan Hankins

Story sources: The Telegraph , Photo: Google Maps