Police apologise over cameras in Muslim areas

A police force apologised yesterday over a controversial CCTV scheme which saw more than 200 surveillance cameras installed in two largely Muslim neighbourhoods.

West Midland Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said he was "deeply sorry" that his force got the balance between counter-terrorism and excessive intrusion into people's lives "so wrong".

The cameras, some of which were hidden, sparked anger from civil liberties campaigners and residents in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath in Birmingham, where they were predominantly installed.

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Mr Sims said there were "serious shortcomings" in the force's management of the scheme, named Project Champion.

"I am sorry that we got such an important issue so wrong and deeply sorry that it has had such a negative impact on our communities," he said.

"My real regret is that Project Champion has undermined the strong relationships that exist between West Midlands Police and our communities that have been built up over many years.

"When I became Chief Constable in 2009 I put strengthening the trust and confidence of communities at the heart of the changes we would make to policing.

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"I am committed to continuing with these changes and rebuilding any trust we have lost."

Mr Sims said he fully accepted the findings of an independent review, conducted by Thames Valley Police, of his force's handling of the scheme.

It found "little evidence of thought being given to compliance with the legal or regulatory framework" before the cameras were put up.

The review concluded that: "The consultation phase was too little too late, and the lack of transparency about the purpose of the project has resulted in significant community anger and loss of trust."

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Corinna Ferguson, legal officer at civil rights group Liberty which is representing a group of Sparkbrook residents affected by the cameras, said: "It is now clear that the concerns we raised when we threatened legal proceedings were well-founded."

The campaign group's director Shami Chakrabarti added the report was "a devastating critique of Project Champion that will confirm the community's worst fears about blanket, discriminatory and unlawful surveillance.

"Whilst we welcome police attempts to learn from mistakes, there remain serious concerns about the Office for Security and Counter-terrorism that funded this scheme," she said.

The scheme was organised by the Safer Birmingham Partnership, an initiative including West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and other agencies.

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The partnership has acknowledged it should have been more explicit about the role of the city's Counter Terrorism Unit in setting up the network of 218 cameras.

The number plate recognition and CCTV cameras were financed under a counter-terrorism initiative but were marketed to locals as a general crime prevention measure.

Following angry public meetings in July, the Safer Birmingham

Partnership issued a statement pledging a full and in-depth public consultation and West Midlands Police asked the Thames Valley force to conduct an independent review.

The cameras have not been switched on and have been covered with plastic bags to provide reassurance that footage is not being captured.