Facewatch
Dear Sir/Madam,
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Please disclose all documents and emails composed between 2015 and 2020 inclusive relating to the company Facewatch. Specifically, please include documents relating to the use of Facewatch in Colmore Business District, and elsewhere in Birmingham.
Where you determine that some information is exempt from disclosure, please redact with a black rectangle and specify which exemption applies.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any clarification of this request.
Yours faithfully,
Crofton Black
Information request
Our reference: 13016021
Your reference: [FOI #643416 email]
Information request
Our reference: 13016021
Your reference: [FOI #643416 email]
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to request an internal review of Birmingham City Council's handling of my request, ref. 13016021, relating to Facewatch Ltd.
In my request, I asked for a) emails and b) documents held by Birmingham City Council relating to Facewatch Ltd and dated from 2015 to 2020. I was told that no such material has been located either on paper or electronically.
Public transparency data shows that Birmingham City Council paid Facewatch Ltd sums totalling over £70,000 for services between May 2015 and May 2017, and documents published by the council refer to Facewatch's activities in collaboration with the council in Birmingham. It is thus completely untenable that Birmingham City Council has no records whatsoever of its dealings with Facewatch Ltd between 2015 and 2020. At the least, it seems implausible that a public sector buyer keeps no records of tender discussions, contract requirements, statements of work, evaluations, meetings with representatives and conversations about a company's services - some or all of these types of information and documents must exist, unless Birmingham City Council keeps no records of its outsourcing whatsoever.
Please review the handling of my request. Many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
Crofton Black
Dear Crofton Black
Thank you for your email. Please accept my sincere apologies for the
delay in replying.
I can confirm that we are now reconsidering your request and will reply to
you again on the outcome as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Yours sincerely
Jenny Bent
Business Support Coordinator
Inclusive Growth
Digital & Customer Support Services
[1][email address]
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References
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1. file:///tmp/foiextract20200504-2311-smh45g#
Dear Ms Bent,
Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate your acknowledgement and look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Thanks and best wishes,
Crofton Black
Dear Mr Black
Please see the latest information we have on this matter detailed below.
The Birmingham Community Safety Partnership (BCSP) funded the Face Watch
scheme following a bid from WM Police.
The BCSP receives its funding from the Office of the Police and Crime
Commissioner and Birmingham City Council acts as the host to manage the
money. Birmingham City Council did not use any BCC funds to pay/support
face watch.
We have been unable to find anything that relates to the £70k, we can
only find £30k payment in 2015/16 financial year.
We have asked BCSP to provide any documents relating to the use of
Facewatch, but you may also want to contact WM Police for any documents
they may hold.
regards
Corporate Information Governance Team
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #643416 email]
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BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Many thanks for your reply.
I am grateful that you have asked BCSP to provide relevant documents - please let me know whether they will be sending these directly to me, or to you in the first instance.
Best wishes,
Crofton Black
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J Roberts left an annotation ()
ICO 31/3/23:
'It is against this backdrop that we have considered the live facial recognition technology provided to the retail sector by security company Facewatch.
Facewatch’s product aims to help businesses protect their customers, staff and stock. The system scans people’s faces in real time as they enter a store and alerts if a “subject of interest” has entered.'
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-c...