Camera grid to log number plates

By Richard Bilton Special correspondent, BBC News

A national network of cameras and computers automatically logging car number plates will be in place within months, the BBC has learned.

Thousands of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are already operating on Britain's roads.

Police forces across England, Wales and Scotland will soon be able to share the information on one central computer.

Officers say it is a useful tool in fighting crime, but critics say the network is secretive and unregulated.

Kent's Chief Constable, Michael Fuller, commented: "We've seen an increase of some 40% of arrests since we've been using this technology.

"I'm very confident that we're using it properly and responsibly, and that innocent people have nothing to fear from the way we use it."

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A number of local councils are signing up their Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems to the ANPR network. As long as the cameras are technically good enough, they can be adapted to take the software.

In towns such as Bradford, Portsmouth and Luton that means greater coverage for the police and more journeys captured and recorded.

John Dean, who is co-ordinating the ANPR network for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "It's the finest intelligence-led policing tool we've got.

"It covers so many different areas from crime reduction, crime detection to road safety and everything in between."

Marked car

But not everyone thinks it is such a good thing.

A 'marker' on John Catt's car led to him being stopped by anti terror police

John Catt found himself on the wrong side of the ANPR system. He regularly attends anti-war demonstrations outside a factory in Brighton, his home town.

It was at one of these protests that Sussex police put a "marker" on his car. That meant he was added to a "hotlist".

This is a system meant for criminals but John Catt has not been convicted of anything and on a trip to London, the pensioner found himself pulled over by an anti-terror unit.

"I was threatened under the Terrorist Act. I had to answer every question they put to me, and if there were any questions I would refuse to answer, I would be arrested. I thought to myself, what kind of world are we living in?"

Sussex police would not talk about the case.

The police say they do not know how many cameras there are in total, and they say that for operational reasons they will not say where the fixed cameras are positioned.

'Limited resources'

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, whose job it is to protect personal data, has concerns about the lack of regulation.

He said: "There's very little monitoring. I mean, my office has very limited powers.

"We have very limited resources. We are not actively monitoring that area. You're right to ask the question. No one's checking it at the moment"

The BBC TV series Who's Watching You? asked the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to comment on the Commissioner's views.

"It's something that we will look at further legislation about where necessary," she said.

"I don't think we should lose sight of the very considerable benefits that this technology also brings us, brings law enforcement."

Recent research by Huddersfield University found that the public seemed to share that view. The study took place in Leeds as the ANPR system was being introduced. The vast majority supported the cameras if they caught law breakers, with only a few mentioning concerns about police surveillance.

The police themselves say they have nothing to hide and would welcome the introduction of a regulatory code. But that seems some way off - and for now this secretive system continues to watch us and continues to grow.

Source: BBC news

Electricity to power 'smart grid'

The smart network would send its data through the power network

Global electricity networks could become smart grids that can help us monitor and control our energy usage, if plans from net firm Cisco take off.

The giant US firm, whose technology helps underpin the net, is building a two-way link into electricity grids.

Smart grids would allow devices to communicate with utility firms to give an accurate view of energy use that could cut CO2 emissions by 211m tonnes

Cisco believes the market could be worth up to $20 billion a year.

The basic premise is to link different parts of the electrical grid - from a single home to the largest of power stations - using a customised network based on Internet Protocol (IP).

Cisco say the proposal would be a "once in a generation capital investment".

With the rising cost of electrical power and concerns about how that power is generated - especially when it comes to fossil fuels - a number of other firms are also making a bid to modernise the electrical networks.

IBM launched a range of embedded software applications, although these communicate through the regular internet, rather than via the mains; General Electric and a number of new start-up firms are also making bids to capture a slice of the market.

Cisco say its system is different, because it would send the IP data down the power lines themselves, rather than using the internet.

Shocking news

Security is also a factor. In April the Wall Street Journal reported that hackers had penetrated the "US electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system".

Speaking to the BBC, Neil Harris - Cisco Europe's head of green IT - said it would be harder for hackers to penetrate the new network.

"It won't make it invulnerable, but as the network is separate from the net is adds a new layers of resilience," he said.

"We expect to see a rise in micro-generation, not just in Europe, but round the world, and the smart grid would be able to handle the bi-directional flow of data and electricity."

The UK gov wants a smart meter in every home by 2020

However, the existing grid is not exactly empty. Stewart Larque, a spokesman for the UK's National Grid, said they already monitored the main power network. The problem, he said, arose when you started dealing with individual streets.

"We have a lot of detailed information on what's going happening on our network at any given time," he told the BBC.

"We can see everything down to the substations, after that it's down to the distribution companies.

"And there is only so far they can see. Sometimes they won't know that there has been a small power cut until the users phone them to say there is a problem."

Mr Harris says the new system could address that issue.

"One of the aims is more agility in distribution. The packets would carry information on the health of the network - just as they currently do on the internet - and you could use this data to spot operational issues or even a malicious attack," he said.

Cisco say that the network would not just benefit the utility companies.

"Ultimately, this can help users see where there power is being used and from that you can see where it is being wasted and thus save on your electricity bills."

Source: BBC news