Oxford Cabs to Receive Cameras, Record Passengers by 2015

According to Oxford City Council, the footage from these cameras can be reviewed by police officers in the event of an investigation, but for no other purpose

Oxford City Council in England has announced that all taxis within the city will be required to place cameras in their vehicles by April 2015.

The cameras fitted within the cabs will record all passengers on a daily basis. Both video and audio will be recorded and stored on a CCTV hard drive for 28 days, and the cameras will be placed within black cabs and private-hire vehicles. Taxi drivers licensed for the first time must have the required equipment as well as a panic button installed by April 6, 2012, while cabs already registered will have until April 2015 to obtain the cameras.

According to Oxford City Council, the footage from these cameras can be reviewed by police officers in the event of an investigation, but for no other purpose.

Civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch views the placement of cameras within cabs as "a total disregard for civil liberties." Big Brother Watch is even planning to file a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The ICO reportedly agrees with Big Brother Watch, noting that the continuous recording of passengers is an invasion of privacy.

"Licensing authorities must take account of people's right to privacy when deciding whether to impose CCTV as a licence condition for taxi drivers," said an ICO spokeswoman.

Oxford City Council said that the possibility of private conversations being intruded must be "balanced" against the public safety of drivers and passengers.

"Given that one rail route to Witney [David Cameron's constituency] is through Oxford, we'll be letting the prime minister know that his staff might want to avoid using Oxford cabs," said Nick Pickles, Big Brother Watch director.
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