Request ID: FOI-0227-2324 Date published: 31 May 2023
You asked
Please answer the following questions
1. Since the Mayor approved the plans to expand ULEZ how many cameras have been installed in the expanded area, if possible broken down by borough.
2. How many more are planned by 29th August, go live date, if possible broken down by borough.
3. To date how many of those in 1 have been a) stolen, b) damaged beyond repair, c) damaged but reparable, if possible broken down by borough.
4. Of those in 3 how many have been reported to Police
5. Has anyone been a)arrested b)charged or c) cautioned as a result of these reports
6. Before go live is it planned to use the cameras for any practical purposes including, but not limited to, a) warning non compliant vehicle keepers that they must pay/risk a penalty after 29 August, b) other traffic enforcement issues, c)Access by police for crime/traffic enforcement purposes. If so which force or forces?, d) anything else
7. After 29th August how long will TfL keep images/tapes/other records or recordings and who will have access to them?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0227-2324 Thank you for your request received on 20 April 2023 asking for information about the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion cameras. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked: 1. Since the Mayor approved the plans to expand ULEZ how many cameras have been installed in the expanded area, if possible broken down by borough. 2. How many more are planned by 29th August, go live date, if possible broken down by borough. 3. To date how many of those in 1 have been a) stolen, b) damaged beyond repair, c) damaged but reparable, if possible broken down by borough. 4. Of those in 3 how many have been reported to Police 5. Has anyone been a)arrested b)charged or c) cautioned as a result of these reports As of 28 April 2023, c.990 new Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have been installed in Outer London. A more detailed breakdown of the expanded ULEZ cameras, as well as the other information requested in questions 2 to 5 above is exempted from disclosure under section 31(1)(a) Law Enforcement which relates to all aspects of the prevention and detection of crime, section 38 - Health and Safety, and section 43(2) – prejudice to commercial interests of the FOI Act. In all three cases, we consider that the release of this information would be likely to cause the prejudice or harm indicated by the exemptions, by encouraging vandalism to target our traffic enforcement cameras. Section 31(1)(a) applies where release of information would be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime. The TfL network can often be the target of graffiti and other vandalism, and anything that encourages this or can be used to assist with this criminal activity is detrimental to our efforts to combat it. Disclosure of information under the FOI Act has to be regarded as a disclosure to ‘the public at large’. Our view is that release of the information would be likely to encourage further instances of copycat vandalism by making TfL assets a more attractive target for further vandalism as well as providing useful information to those who have previously and may wish to carry out these criminal attacks. Some of the cameras being targeted may have a live electricity supply to them and lives could be endangered by individuals tampering with the wiring, as well as the potential danger to individuals from falling from equipment or being involved in road traffic accidents whilst carrying out these activities. We believe that there is good reason to conclude that release of the requested information would lead to an increase in incidents of vandalism to our cameras by encouraging other like-minded individuals to do the same, therefore we believe that the section 38 - health and safety exemption is also engaged. In relation to section 43(2) – prejudice to commercial interests, there is a clear direct financial cost to TfL in dealing with vandalism both in terms of protecting cameras from such crime and in dealing with the consequences when it does occur. These costs comprise the repair works as well as the subsequent disruption it causes to the road network in having to repair cameras and close sections of the footway and roads to facilitate this. This not only leads to significant delays and inconvenience for our customers, but also has direct financial consequences for TfL in deterring and dealing with the effects of the vandalism. The use of these exemptions is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency, and in particular where this relates to the maintenance of public assets and the effective expenditure of public funds. In this case, it may also be of interest in enabling the general public to understand the extent of this problem on TfL’s road network. However, we do not consider that there are any other public interest factors in favour of the disclosure of this information, which otherwise is only likely to be of interest to those who follow and/or commit vandalism. On the other hand, there is a very strong public interest in preventing further crime, in protecting the health and safety of individuals and in protecting the commercial interests of TfL as a public authority. Therefore, in this instance we have concluded that the balance lies in favour of withholding the information to ensure that we are able to minimise the number of potential incidents of vandalism incidents which could have considerable implications for law enforcement, public safety, and TfL expenditure. TfL expects to install 2750 new ANPR cameras in total. 6. Before go live is it planned to use the cameras for any practical purposes including, but not limited to, a) warning non compliant vehicle keepers that they must pay/risk a penalty after 29 August, b) other traffic enforcement issues, c)Access by police for crime/traffic enforcement purposes. If so which force or forces?, d) anything else 7. After 29th August how long will TfL keep images/tapes/other records or recordings and who will have access to them? As explained in our published Road User Charging Privacy Notice (https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/privacy-and-cookies/road-user-charging), from early May 2023 (before the expanded scheme formally begins), the newly installed cameras will be used to test the technical infrastructure that links the camera network to the Road User Charging back office systems and also ensure that cameras are capturing vehicle data correctly and at the right volumes. We will also use the cameras for business planning purposes (e.g. resourcing and system capacity requirements), traffic monitoring (using pseudonymised data) as well as to inform our awareness campaign for the expanded zone. Any cameras installed before May 2023 were operational, in order to check they had been installed correctly, but any vehicle data collected was not retained or used for any purpose. 29 August 2023 is the single go-live date for the scheme. Once the scheme is live from 29 August 2023 the newly installed outer London ANPR cameras will also be used to enforce LEZ. TfL has followed the required Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) process and has published DPIAs alongside the wider Road User Charging Privacy Notice (for the DPIA for the London-wide ULEZ, see https://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-wide-ulez-final-dpia-november-2022.pdf), which describe how the operation of the ULEZ scheme complies with data protection legislation and in particular sets out how we minimise data collection from ANPR cameras to only what is needed, how data will be used, how long it will be kept for and how we keep it secure. TfL has legal powers which would allow it to grant general ongoing access to ANPR data from the new cameras to the Metropolitan Police Service for the prevention and detection of crime, should it decide that this was necessary and proportionate. However no decision has yet been taken to do so. The Road User Charging Privacy Notice and London-wide ULEZ DPIA set out limited circumstances in which ANPR camera data may be shared with third parties, including with the DVLA to support our awareness campaign. Otherwise, TfL does not share ANPR camera data with other organisations. The Road User Charging Privacy Notice referred to above explains how long personal data collected for the operation of all road user charging schemes (including ULEZ) is held for, and who accesses it as part of the operation of the service. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London [email protected]
