New IP solutions encourages new appointment.
Why has the UK government decided to appoint an interim CCTV regulator? Well Andy Rennison certainly has a big task ahead of him. To be fair it seems on the surface just another public servant being appointed just for the sake of it. We already have regulation within the industry in the form of the NSI and this is effectively controlled by the government already through the implementation of European standards for intruder alarms, access control and CCTV.
The challenges ahead.
There are however some challenges ahead within our industry that to the credit of government officials have actually been foreseen at a relatively early stage. Integration between CCTV, access control and intruder alarms mean that the boundaries are becoming blurred between the security technologies . Of even more relevance is that CCTV evidence produced by camera systems has always been contentious but now with the advent of IP CCTV and integrated CCTV systems mean that the police and the courts are desperately seeking guidelines and regulation to ensure that evidence that is forth coming from the new IP surveillance systems can be used in the courts and this is very much in the public interest.
Government interference?
Government intervention can only be justified if it is profoundly in the public interest and with CCTV software being used more and more, guidelines are are must to ensure forensic integrity is maintained and all evidence is 100% acceptable however it may need to be used.
Complaints procedure for CCTV systems defined by the CCTV regulator.
The right for the public to be able to complain is only a step forward if there is a real understanding in the public domain as to how IP CCTV works . So if education is part of Andy Rennison’s remit then this cannot be viewed as bad thing.
Conclusion.
Within the industry we have to look at this in a positive way. No publicity is bad publicity and if it means that high standards are enforced then only the most professional companies will be able to take on the new challenges set out by the new CCTV regulator. We look forward to the way this develops with interest . Your thoughts are welcomed. Do we need this kind of regulation or can the industry be relied upon to govern itself ?