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Community Safety

What we do

Community Safety

Enables the Council to meet its statutory responsibilities in working with partner agencies, bodies and groups to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime and disorder within the boundaries of the borough. We co-ordinate the Safer Greenwich Partnership and lead on the production and implementation of the borough's Community Safety Plan.

We run a number of operational anti-social behaviour and crime reduction panels and initiatives, especially for behaviour, which causes high risk and harm to victims and the community (for example domestic violence and abuse, hate crime and gangs issues).

CCTV and Community Safety Enforcement Service

This service runs a borough-wide CCTV system and a Community Safety Enforcement Service, promoting positive behaviour through maintaining a strong visible enforcement presence in our key public spaces.

They take enforcement action and issue Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for issues such as fly tipping, littering, Public Spaces protection orders and un-licensed street trading.

Our Community Safety Enforcement officers wear and use body-worn cameras for the collection of evidence, to aid prosecutions and to improve officer safety.

Why we need your information and how we use it

We use your information you have provided to us in relation to the above services to:

  • deliver services and support to you
  • investigate issues that you have told us about
  • tackle the issues like anti-social behaviour and begging
  • manage services
  • train our officers
  • help investigate any worries or complaints you have about our services
  • check the quality of services
  • help with research and planning of new services
  • take enforcement action and issue Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for issues such as begging, fly tipping, littering, Public Spaces protection orders and un-licensed street trading.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is used to obtain and request the disclosure of information. Failure to provide information may affect the type and the effectiveness of interventions used to assist in dealing with any complaint received.

CCTV Operation

The Council's CCTV control room operates a Code of Practice which ensures compliance with relevant legislation in relation to the management and operation of public space CCTV.

The operation of the System has been notified to the Office of the Information Commissioner in accordance with Data Protection legislation. The Data Controller for the System is the Council and day to day responsibility for the data will be devolved to the System Manager.

All data will be processed in accordance with the principles of Data Protection legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Safeguarding

See our data protection privacy notice for more on how we may use data to help safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and to protect adults at risk from abuse. 

What is our power to obtain and use personal data?

It is necessary to perform our statutory duties or it is required by law contained in the following acts, to facilitate a statutory obligation, and to provide council services (this list is not exhaustive):

  • The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998 section 17a (as amended by the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Policing and Crime Act 2009
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998 section 115 (as amended by the Police and Justice Act 2006) provides the legal power for the disclosure of personal data to a relevant authority to support the implementation of the provision of the Act, in particular related to the reduction of crime and the apprehension/prosecution of offenders
  • The Environmental Protection Act 1990
  • The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
  • Housing Acts 1985, 1996 and 2004
  • The Localism Act 2011
  • Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014
  • Investigatory Powers Act 2016
  • Homelessness Reduction Act 2018

It is necessary to protect someone in an emergency.

It is necessary to deliver health, child protection or social care services or it is necessary to protect public health.

It is necessary for archiving, research or statistical purposes.  When it is for research purposes it will be anonymised data only.

It is necessary for the prevention or detection of fraud/crime. 

Special category data is processed under the provision of health and social care treatment and management as defined in Art 9 of the GDPR.

What type of information we collect

Community Safety

We will collect your contact details, including name, date of birth, address, tenancy, email address and telephone number.

CCTV and Community Safety Enforcement Service

Body cameras (BWV) will not be used on a continuous basis to monitor and record all activity as part of routine patrols. The BWV cameras will be incident specific and used when officers issue FPNs (fines) or when officers interact with members of the public.

It is recognised that there will be instances where interactions with members of the public do not justify the use of BWV cameras for example when a person asks for directions and in these types of interactions wardens will switch off their BWV camera.

Who we may share your information with

Community Safety

In certain circumstances, where necessary or required by law, we will use the data you provide, or request your personal data from other departments or other authorities such as:

  • We use your information where necessary to carryout enforcement action and issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for issues such as begging, fly tipping, littering, Public Spaces Protection Orders and un-licensed street trading
  • With local authorities and government departments, as necessary for administering justice, or for exercising statutory, governmental, or other public functions
  • With police and other relevant authorities (for example Probation Service, Department of Work and Pensions, HM Revenues and Customs) in relation to the prevention or detection of crime and fraud; the apprehension or prosecution of offenders and the assessment or collection of tax or duty. For the purposes of law enforcement, regulation and licensing, criminal/civil prosecutions and court proceedings
  • With other statutory organisations, for example other borough's, social services and health authorities, as necessary for exercising statutory functions
  • With all departments, providers and contractors who assist the council in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.

This list is not exhaustive as there are other circumstances where we may also be required to share information, for example in order to meet our legal obligations.

How long we keep your information

Community Safety

We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations.

We will hold your personal information in relation to most areas of our work on anti-social behaviour for six years. In some cases, information will be held for up to 10 years - for example information in relation to domestic violence and abuse, which could be needed for the purpose of a statutory Domestic Homicide Review.

CCTV and Community Safety Enforcement officers

The Council will deploy, download and store data processed by BWV cameras and ensure the permanent deletion of images through secure methods at the end of 31 calendar days.

However, there are occasions when we need to retain images for longer periods where an enforcement body is investigating a crime, which gives them the opportunity to view the images as part of an active criminal investigation.

Version date
March 2020