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The below policy describes how CCTV cameras are being used for a multi-modal counting project trial in the Smart Christchurch programme and how we are collecting and using personal information in connection with this trial and safeguarding citizens’ privacy.
This policy describes how CCTV cameras are being used for a multi-modal counting project trial in the Smart Christchurch programme and how we are collecting and using personal information in connection with this trial and safeguarding citizens’ privacy.
The primary purpose of CCTV cameras is for crime prevention and safety and existing privacy policies cover that use.
This policy pertains only to the secondary use of a small subset of cameras in our city where camera footage is being automatically processed by a 3rd party data analysis provider to identify mode shapes and direction of travel.
This policy explains what kind of personal information we collect, when we collect it, and how we use and store it by setting out the:
The objective of the trial is to convert our current 20th-century method of counting pedestrians to a smarter, more efficient method that uses 21st-century technology and approaches.
An automated pedestrian counting solution will answer questions such as:
Pedestrian counting already occurs in the city and is typically done by a group of university students with ‘clickers’ counting and taking notes about peoples’ direction of travel and dwell time over the summer holidays.
The Smart Christchurch team identified an opportunity to create a public-private collaboration that uses existing technology in the city to provide a reliable and consistent, automatically generated dataset to a wider range of stakeholders.
2.1. Expected outcomes
Christchurch will gain powerful insight from understanding how people are using our emerging city. What lanes do people travel through? Where do they like to sit and rest? Which precincts, facilities, or events attract the most people?
The information collected from monitoring pedestrian flow in identified areas can provide information to city stakeholders that will improve their understanding of the day-to-day patterns of city residents and visitors. It can also provide insight into the usage and movements in areas where new facilities have opened such as Tūranga (our new central library) and Hoyts EntX.
The reports produced as a result of this analysis will provide insight to stakeholders such as developers, event managers, the tourism industry, city administrators, planners, and social agencies who provide day to day support for our citizens.
There is an added benefit that data can be given to emergency coordinators responding to shock events such as earthquakes.
The cameras used for this trial are located in areas that do not interfere with normal activities of the space nor unreasonably intrude on the privacy of individuals. The camera footage being analysed is a 10min interval taken each hour from 8am to 8pm each day. The current location of the cameras being used for multi-modal counting are (see a location map in appendix 1):
The key stakeholders involved in this trial are the:
The Smart Christchurch programme has been initiated to deliver rapid proof-of-concept projects to make the Council’s vision of ‘Christchurch as a city of opportunity for all’ possible.
Smart Christchurch uses 21st-century technology and approaches to connect communities, innovation, and information; creating a better experience for people in Christchurch.
The role of Smart Christchurch is to:
The cameras being used for this trial are owned by private companies and developers and public agencies such as Christchurch City Council (Council), Christchurch Transport Operations Centre (CTOC), Development Christchurch, and Christchurch NZ.
The role of the camera footage providers is to:
The trial is being delivered in partnership with VIP Security Limited. VIP Security has been Christchurch City Council’s (Council) contractor for electronic building security and access since 2002. VIP employees work within the company’s existing Security and Confidentiality Policy and in accordance with the Council – VIP Security Data Access and Privacy Agreement 2002 which includes guidelines on the provision and transfer of data, and confidentiality and privacy.
In addition, VIP Security is accredited by the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) Defence Industry Security Programme (DISP) and have annual audits to confirm compliance with the provisions of the NZDF Orders 51 Series, Volume 7 Industrial and Project Security (see appendix 2).
For the purpose of this trial, VIP Security has sole responsibility for the camera footage used in the multi-modal counting trial. All data processing is done at VIP Security’s secure premises and the legal responsibility is with VIP Security to protect the data while it remains on-site. They are the owners and sole users of the software being used to process the recorded images. VIP Security is responsible for complying with the Privacy Act 2020.
The role of VIP Security is to:
Reports will be produced by Council (or 3rd parties acting on their behalf) and will be made available to report recipients.
The role of the report generator is to:
Report recipients include developers, event managers, the tourism industry, city administrators, planners, and social agencies who provide day to day support for our citizens.
The role of the report recipient is to:
This section describes the hardware and software being used to collect and analyse the camera footage for the multi-modal counting trial.
10.1. Hardware
This section describes the primary hardware that is used for this trial, the cameras that are collecting the footage and the servers that are used for storing and analysing the data.
10.1.1. Cameras
The Smart Christchurch programme uses existing cameras where possible, so that trial costs are minimised. The cameras are located in areas that do not interfere with normal activities of the space nor unreasonably intrude on the privacy of individuals.
The camera viewing zones have signs advising the public that the monitoring is taking place for the primary purpose of security and crime prevention and the secondary purpose of gathering analytics.
10.1.2. Servers
The servers that are used for storing and analysing the data during this trial is located at VIP Security in a monitored, secure, server room.
10.2. Software
To minimise human intervention and alleviate privacy concerns, internationally reputable software designed for multi-modal analysis is being used in this trial to count modal shapes and direction of travel on the camera footage.
By using software, counting of pedestrian, bikes, cars, etc. is automatically processed by the software and manual viewing of camera footage is not required.
In order to run the software, the first still images of a recording is visible to the data analyst. However, the data analysts are employees of VIP security who are trained and vetted to comply with the company’s security and privacy policies.
Camera footage data is collected and held on VIP Security secure premises until processing occurs (approximately one week after capture) and footage is subsequently deleted (approximately week of processing).
The output provided to Council for the trial is aggregated pedestrian totals in a spreadsheet with generic information such as location, time of day, date, and total count (see appendix 3).
This spreadsheet contains no personally identifiable information.
This section describes the actions taken to safeguard citizens’ privacy within the Multi-modal Counting Trial using the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s Privacy Assessment Toolkit as a guideline (see appendix 5).
The privacy impact for the Smart Christchurch Multi-modal Counting Trial has been assessed as low because no personal information will be collected, used, or disclosed during the trial. Reasons for this assessment include: