Police Face Secret Surveillance Challenge

DEVON and Cornwall police could face court action over its network of secret surveillance cameras which read and store millions of vehicle number plates every year.

The Western Morning News revealed last summer that 63.99 million images were taken in 2008 by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in the region – the equivalent of two every second and almost a 10-fold increase on the 6.7 million records created in 2007.

Records – even for innocent motorists – are kept on a police database for a minimum of two years. Westcountry MPs complained the network had been expanded "by stealth".

Now it has emerged civil rights group Liberty is planning to launch the first legal challenge to forces' uses of the surveillance system.

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Florida Eye Institue Founder Felt Threatened

Florida Eye Institute founder Dr. Paul Minotty says he had a security system installed in the three-story building because he believed there was a conspiracy against him, threatening his well-being.

Minotty told jurors on Tuesday he wanted protection fearing that he was going to set up for an arrest for drunken driving following a Christmas party in 2007.

He also told jurors he heard a clinic employee bought a 50-caliber military rifle.

Circuit Judge Robert Hawley cautioned jurors that Minotty's testimony should only be used in judging the defendant's state of mind rather the truth of the assertions.

Minotty is on trial in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by three of the institute's six doctor-owners. The three contend Minotty financially mismanaged the firm, over their objections, and allegedly resorted to having electronic surveillance equipment secretly installed in their private offices in violation of state law.

The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of damages and want the institute put in a business receivership.