We will eventually get around to fisking Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's Communications Data Bill and dodgy history of terrorism speech, but here is another "database state" function creep announcement:
It appears that Northgate Information Solutions, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lothian & Borders Police, regarding some sort of Automatic Number Plate Recognition data mining service. This is not some enhanced add on anlysis software package simply for use internally, to help the Police make sense of the masses of ANPR data which they are collecting, the vast makority of which is on innocent motorists.
This deal follows the recommendation by Sir Ronnie Flanagan in his final report that police forces should ensure they are taking an entrepreneurial approach to policing in ethical income generation and in creating and exploiting business opportunities.
Examples of how the new service can be used include -
• Several robberies have occurred in a region - the services can be used to establish what vehicles were in the vicinity, allowing further investigations to be undertaken including direct access to the regional force crime and intelligence systems to establish what is known about these vehicles;
• An incident involving a vehicle has occurred and the police have nothing to go on other than the make, model and colour of the vehicle. Using the services the police can establish which registrations match with this make, model and colour and which of these have been spotted in the vicinity of the incident.
The vast majority of these vehicles and registrations in these two example scenarios will be of innocent drivers.
Presumably Northgate Information Services are hoping to sell this service, and the raw data and data mining analyses, including the traffic movements of innocent people caught by the ANPR surveillance infrastructure, to other Police Forces or other Governments or commercial companies, for a commercial profit, without the informed prior consent of any of the innocent motorists.
Northgate Information Systems used be McDonnell Douglas Information Systems. and are still American owned.They do a lot of business with central and local government, and had some of the Government websites and servers which they run, including the offical Labour Party website whisch they hosted at the time, disrupted by the massive Buncefield fuel depot fire and explosion near Hemel Hempstead, literally across the road from some of their offices.
See the Northgate Information Systems Press release Police forces across the UK to benefit from innovative new intelligence service:
Police forces across the UK to benefit from innovative new intelligence service Public Services15-Oct-2008 - [Northgate Public Services]
Police forces across the UK to benefit from innovative new intelligence service
Northgate Information Solutions, a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets, today announces an innovative new service designed to promote radical improvements in policing and contribute to safer communities throughout the country.
Northgate has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lothian & Borders Police to market their widely acclaimed automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) analysis system. The new initiative will provide UK forces with enhanced intelligence gathering through closely tracking the movements of vehicles believed to be involved in criminal activities.
Citizens will benefit from faster incident response times, with forces able to prevent and predict crime and to bring more offenders to justice. The innovative service will deliver:
• an enhanced ability to identify criminal activity that is associated with a vehicle or group of vehicles through hot spotting and trend analysis of vehicle information;
• closer analysis of high crime areas of interest to police forces;
• comprehensive and up to date police intelligence through joined-up vehicle information and integration with third party information;
• increased public safety through closely monitoring vehicle movements, protecting both police staff and the wider community.This deal follows the recommendation by Sir Ronnie Flanagan in his final report that police forces should ensure they are taking an entrepreneurial approach to policing in ethical income generation and in creating and exploiting business opportunities.
Examples of how the new service can be used include -
• Several robberies have occurred in a region - the services can be used to establish what vehicles were in the vicinity, allowing further investigations to be undertaken including direct access to the regional force crime and intelligence systems to establish what is known about these vehicles;
• An incident involving a vehicle has occurred and the police have nothing to go on other than the make, model and colour of the vehicle. Using the services the police can establish which registrations match with this make, model and colour and which of these have been spotted in the vicinity of the incident.
Ian Blackhurst, Managing Director of Criminal Justice & Public Safety at Northgate Public Services, said: "We want to give citizens and officers in the field the confidence that challenging incidents will be dealt with effectively and efficiently. The new service supports our total commitment to public safety and helps us meet the policing needs of our neighbourhoods. We look forward to working with organisations across the country to provide protection for police and citizens, building safer communities and strengthening trust in the criminal justice system."
- Ends -
For more information:
Fellows' Associates:
Kathy Sutton 020 7849 3403; 07966 890401; ksutton@fellowsassociates.com
Kuntal Biswas 020 7849 3347; 07930 566291; kbiswas@fellowsassociates.comNote to editors:
1. Northgate Information Solutions is a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets. Northgate's task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology, and to share in the economic and social benefits that this brings.
2. In the UK, the company works with four out of five local authorities and every police force. Northgate supports public service transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. Its services are used in the administration of more than £12 billion of revenues and benefits; in electoral administration systems covering 18 million people; to support the national system for reporting police performance; and in the management of over three million local authority and housing association properties worldwide. Founded in 1969, the company has over 7,000 employees.
Can't have that. It belongs to me.