Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/04/441.asp
6/5/2005
UK Meter Maids to Secretly Record Conversations
Meter maids in Stoke-on-Trent, UK will receive GSM badges to covertly record conversations.
The Stoke-on-Trent City Council in the UK is testing an electronic badge system that will allow meter maids to covertly record conversations. Meter maids in the UK have come under physical attack by motorists angry at the £1 billion in annual parking tickets they generate. The badge is intended to allow them to record evidence of abuse.
The Identicom name badge is essentially a GSM cell phone that looks like an ordinary identification badge. It is capable of continuously transmitting all conversations to a central command center, or only after a "panic button" is hit. It is also capable of sending pre-recorded text messages. The city's meter maids already carry GPS locators and digital cameras.
Article Excerpt:"We're giving demonstrations of this device to our safety officers in different departments around the council to see what their reaction is and whether it would be a useful thing" [said a council spokesman.]
Source: Wardens May Get 'Secret Bugs' to Record Angry Motorists (The Scotsman (UK), 6/5/2005)
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