Request ID: FOI-1450-2324 Date published: 29 August 2023
You asked
Under a FOI request I’d like to know;
1. what cctv cameras your office / department/ mayor of London, has responsibility for?
2. Who grants permission for cctv cameras to be located monitoring public walkways / public highways.
I am seeking to raise awareness of the 1000’s of unidentified cctv cameras that are located throughout London.
I look forward to your response.
Thank you
We answered
TfL Ref: 1450-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 1 August 2023 asking for information about CCTV cameras.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked for:
a GDPR request as below. I have been advised by the mayor of London office to write to this email.
1. What CCTV cameras your office / department/ mayor of London, has responsibility for?
The information you asked for is available on our website using the following link:
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
2. Who grants permission for CCTV cameras to be located monitoring public walkways / public highways.
I am seeking to raise awareness of the 1000’s of unidentified CCTV cameras that are located throughout London. As the aforementioned link states: ‘we have surveillance cameras in and around the following locations:
Across London's road and tunnels network for monitoring road traffic and for traffic enforcement (including a number of mobile cameras, which can be deployed at various locations)
Across London's road network for enforcement of our Road User Charging Schemes
Under data protection legislation, we are only allowed to use personal information if we have a proper reason or ‘legal basis’ to do so. In the case of surveillance cameras, we operate them to perform tasks in support of our statutory functions, in particular, to deliver ‘safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities and services to, from and within Greater London’.
We operate surveillance cameras for these main purposes:
Protecting the health and safety of employees, customers and members of the public
Protecting property and other infrastructure
The management and investigation of major incidents
Preventing and detecting crime and antisocial behaviour - including fare evasion
Realtime traffic monitoring
Enforcing traffic rules and regulations (eg relating to yellow box junctions, red routes and bus lanes); and our Road User Charging Schemes
Supporting the efficient management and operation of our road and rail networks
The exercise or defence of legal claims
Our CCTV may be stored on servers hosted within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA). Any such storage will be subject to contractual safeguards and carried out in accordance with the requirements of UK and EU privacy legislation.
In some circumstances, other disclosures of personal data (including CCTV and body worn camera images or audio) to the police and other law enforcement agencies are permitted by data protection legislation, if they relate to the prevention or detection of crime and/or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. Before any such disclosure takes place, the police are required to demonstrate that the personal data concerned will assist them in this respect. Each police request to TfL is dealt with on a strictly case-by-case basis to ensure that any such disclosure is lawful.
TfL uses signage approved by the Department of Transport to make road users aware of the various traffic restrictions. These signs are displayed across the locations where the traffic restrictions apply. While not all of the signs may specify that CCTV is in use to enforce the restrictions, TfL is permitted to use CCTV as a method of enforcement under various road traffic legislation’.
Please also note that the local councils will also be responsible for CCTV cameras located on public highways that are not part of the Transport for London Road Network, as they are the local highway authorities for these areas.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
