British police vulnerable to Chinese spying, commissioner warns
Government departments were instructed last year to discontinue use of China-made cameras at sensitive sites
Chinese-made drones, helicopters and body cameras deployed by British police forces could potentially allow Beijing to conduct espionage on law enforcement, the UK surveillance commissioner has warned.
In the second half of 2022, the Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner surveyed [pdf] 43 police forces, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), the British Transport Police (BTP), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the National Crime Agency, inquiring about their implementation of surveillance systems.
Of all agencies surveyed, 36 police forces, along with the MoD, BTP and CNC, provided their responses to surveillance commissioner.
Eighteen forces in England and Wales disclosed the use of external camera systems that raised concerns regarding security and ethics.
Fifteen respondents reported acquiring their external camera systems from Chinese suppliers.
At least 24 survey respondents said they were using CCTV cameras produced by Chinese companies or American suppliers known to use Chinese components within their building premises.
Twenty-three respondents reported using cameras on drones.
According to the report, a number of police forces have been employing surveillance equipment manufactured by the Chinese company Hikvision, which has been added to a blacklist by the US due to Beijing's oppression of Uyghur Muslims.
Two police forces admitted to using Hikvision bodycams, which biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, Fraser Sampson, said could be used to transmit data back to Beijing.
Meanwhile, a report by The Telegraph on Tuesday claimed that two-thirds of the camera drones currently in operation by British police have been manufactured by the Chinese company DJI, which has also been blacklisted in the US.
DJI is the world leader in civilian camera drones, due in part to its technology being significantly cheaper than that of its western competitors.
"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 Sampson, warning that the use of Chinese surveillance equipment within police operations ought to be viewed as a security issue that is just as concerning as the supposed use of Chinese spy balloons.
"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," Sampson said.
"I do not understand why we are not at least as concerned about the Chinese cameras six feet above our head in the street and elsewhere."
Last year, UK government departments were instructed to discontinue the use of surveillance cameras produced by Chinese companies on "sensitive sites" owing to security apprehensions. The decision was made following concerns that these firms could be compelled by Chinese law to collaborate with Beijing's security agencies.
Alicia Kearns, who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC the government should take additional steps by eliminating all surveillance equipment manufactured by companies with support from the Chinese government.
The City of London Police, Greater Manchester Police, Gwent Police, Gloucestershire Police, Merseyside Police, South Yorkshire Police, Thames Valley Police and National Crime Agency (NCA), did not provide responses to the survey. Professor Sampson expressed disappointment at their lack of participation.
The Home Office said the security of public systems and institutions is of vital significance for the government.
"The National Cyber Security Centre has produced new guidance to help the police, and other organisations, assess and gain confidence in their supply chain cyber-security," it told the BBC.
In the past two weeks, concerns about the possibility of Chinese espionage have increased, following the US's downing of a Chinese balloon that it claimed was conducting surveillance over North America.
Since then, Washington has intercepted three more objects, although it has not confirmed if they are associated with China.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK's fighter jets are prepared to respond to similar surveillance threats.