British police forces are “shot through” with Chinese-made cameras despite security concerns, an independent government watchdog has warned.
The UK should be as concerned with the use of Chinese-made surveillance tech as with spy balloons 60,000 feet in the air, the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (OBSCC) warned Wednesday.
A survey of forces in England and Wales, as well as specialist policing bodies, found many used either cameras or components about which “there have been security or ethical concerns”.
It comes amid an alleged Chinese “high-altitude balloon programme" for intelligence gathering, which has seen several mystery objects shot down in the US.
British ministers said on Wednesday they were “certainly confident” it could deal with a “spy balloon” if one was to occur in UK airspace.
But OBSCC Commissioner Fraser Sampson said: “There has been a lot in the news in recent days about how concerned we should be about Chinese spy balloons 60,000 feet up in the sky.
“I do not understand why we are not at least as concerned about the Chinese cameras 6 feet above our head in the street and elsewhere.”
According to the survey, at least 24 police forces use internal camera systems with known ethical or security concerns, while 18 use them externally.
Twenty-three forces admitted they operate drone cameras with knowledge of concerns raised by its Chinese manufacturer, and at least 11 said they used ANPR systems with similar concerns over their manufacturers.
Of the companies named, three are Chinese, one Taiwanese and one is American.
“It is abundantly clear from this detailed analysis of the survey results that the police estate in the UK is shot through with Chinese surveillance cameras,” said Mr Sampson.
“Myself and others have been saying for some time that we should, both for security and ethical reasons, really be asking ourselves whether it is ever appropriate for public bodies to use equipment made by companies with such serious questions hanging over them.”
Asked on Sky News whether China was hacking British CCTV cameras, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “I don't think they are hacking our sensitive CCTV cameras and we take every effort to protect areas that are sensitive from anybody hacking it, whether it's China or whether it is another nation.”
He referred to the Government’s decision to order that Chinese company Huawei be removed from the 5G network over security concerns, saying “that’s the direction of travel we’re going in”.
Of the 47 bodies and forces contacted for the survey, 39 responded.
City of London, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Gwent, Merseyside, South Yorkshire and Thames Valley police forces and the National Crime Agency did not take part in the survey, which the OBSCC said was “disappointing”.
The Standard has contacted the National Police Chiefs’ Council for comment.
In November, the Government revealed that its departments had been ordered to stop using the cameras on “sensitive sites” to “prevent any security risks materialising”.
