Sainsburys is to take down bogus “police” warnings from its petrol stations all over the country – because they’re untrue. Bold yellow warnings tell drivers that Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras “linked to the police” have recorded their car’s number to foil non-payers. The ANPR warning signs imply the police and security services scan every car that drives in, enabling them to track people (not cars) for a variety of reasons. Sainsburys also now admits there may be no cameras at all, only scary warnings. As the company’s Civil Rights Officer, Jillian Hardwick concedes, “No Sainsbury's ANPR systems are linked directly to the police. In some stores we have notices up as a deterrent but do not actually use the scheme.”

The civil rights campaign, Liberty says, “The use of false cameras and misleading notices is not acceptable” because people have “the right to know when they are, and are not, under surveillance”. In Devon and Cornwall, for example, the police say Sainsburys has never approached the force to discuss a computer link, while the Information Commissioners Office, the watchdog supervising surveillance, says ANPR signs “should reflect the accurate picture” – which Sainsburys’ warnings do not.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras check number plate images against a privately operated computer blacklist. A buzzer sounds if potential non-payers, known as ‘drive-outs’ or bilkers appear. Sainsburys wants eighty ANPR stations by the end of the year and eventually plans to have them all on-line.

Now, following enquiries about its Devon stores, Sainsburys says its fake “police” warning signs are “in the process of being changed” at filling stations in across the country. Many have been up for more than a year, and yet today the company “cannot give (you) a timescale” for lifting its bogus police threat. Even so the Information Commissioners Office is “pleased Sainsburys has given an assurance that its signs will reflect the accurate picture in future”.

Sainsburys won’t give any figures for stolen petrol, calling them “commercially sensitive”. No comment either on whether any losses are insured. A manager at an Exeter store told a customer non-payers are to blame for petrol price rises! Not the Chancellor or blown-up pipelines. The lack of transparency means it’s hard to tell if Sainsburys ANPR cameras are even justified in crime-fighting and business terms. Customers might be being snooped on for no reason.

Honest and accurate warning signs are required under the 1998 Data Protection Act and company directors can be charged for negligence – a point which even the British Petroleum Retailers Association highlights on its website. The regulator, the ICO, says warnings should show “members of the law-abiding public were being treated civilly and respectfully, as was their due.” The civil rights organisation Liberty says misleading or deceiving the public clearly falls short of that objective. “Surveillance technology can play a partial role in making areas safer and dealing with criminal acts. However there are also big potential dangers and a fundamental part of protecting against these is allowing people the right to know when they are, and are not, under surveillance. The use of false cameras and misleading notices is not acceptable.”

But does it really matter? Anyone can install a fake burglar alarm box without having to prove it’s needed. But a wall box or a bell are a long way from the computerised vigilantism of Automatic Number Plate Recognition – especially when it involves pretending Big Brother is watching as customers fill up their tanks. Sainsburys says its safeguards mean the data won’t be abused, and after so much deception that’s a great relief to know.


NOTES FOR EDITORS

Sainsburys PRO – 0207 695 6500 / 0207 695 7295

Devon & Cornwall Constabulary PRO – 01392 452151

Information Commissioners PRO – 0207 282 2960

Liberty PRO – 0207 403 3888

STORE ANPR INSTALLED (Source: Sainsburys Press Office)


Rugby 03 August 2004
Alperton 04 August 2004
Darnley 11 February 2005
Warren Heath 07 September 2004
Pepper Hill 27 September 2004
Becton 02 November 2004
Castle Boulivard 03 November 2004
Reedswood 27 October 2004
Dunstable 12 October 2004
Courthouse Green 01 November 2004
Weedon Road 07 February 2005
Water Lane 08 November 2004
Bramigham Park 22 February 2005
Enfield 10 November 2004
London Colney 24 November 2004
Whitechapel 13 December 2004
Purley Way 01 December 2004
Nine Elms 30 November 2004
Cobham 23 November 2004
East Mayne 08 December 2004
Heaton Park 06 December 2004
Leigh 22 November 2004
Denton 07 December 2004
West Hove 30 November 2004
Harlow 08 March 2005
Marsh Mills 21 March 2005
Hornsey Rise 29 March 2005
Castle Court 24 March 2005
Watchmore 13 September 2004

So far Sainsburys hasn’t supplied any info about its Exeter (Alphingon) store so it probably just has warning signs and no real ANPR cameras (in line with company policy).