London taxpayers disable 90% of climate cameras in southeast areas

London taxpayers have reportedly disabled nine out of ten AI-powered surveillance cameras recently erected in Southeast London to enforce ULEZ climate mandates.

Ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZs) are areas in London accessible only to low-emission vehicles. Cars that do not meet the city’s environmental standards are charged £12.50 ($16) for entering the ULEZ. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras positioned around the zones use AI technology to read license plates and check them against the vehicles’ make and model in real time. If a vehicle does not meet the environmental threshold, the fine is levied against the car owner. Failure to pay can lead to fines as high as £258 ($331).

Nearly half of London’s residents — over four million people — now live in ULEZs, which cover the North and South Circular Roads. This week, the ULEZ will expand to encompass all London boroughs. The decision has drawn heavy protests from taxpayers and led to growing unrest, including the regular dismantling of ANPR cameras by taxpayers.

Approximately 1,900 ANPR cameras have been installed so far, and Mayor Khan plans to install hundreds more around outer London. In addition to watching for ULEZ offenders, TfL says they serve as security cameras for law enforcement to “prevent and detect crime.” 

But the city is now scrambling to protect its surveillance cameras from taxpayers. Over 300 cameras have been removed or disabled by a group of citizen activists who call themselves the Blade Runners. The group has promised not to rest until every such camera is removed or destroyed “no matter what.”

In Southeast London, including the Borough of Bromley, reports estimate that nine out of ten ULEZ cameras have been recently disabled by taxpayers. In the Syndenham and Sidcup suburbs, 156 out of 185 cameras have been vandalized. TfL has begun placing black boxes around the cameras’ wirings to protect them from being cut, but wire cutting is not the Blade Runners’ only method. Other tactics include facing the cameras toward the sky, placing stickers on the lenses or completed detachment of the devices.

“Vandalism on our network is unacceptable and all incidents are reported to the police for investigation,” TfL said in a statement. “'We have increased the security of the ULEZ cameras following further incidents of vandalism and theft. The Met has been clear that this is vandalism of government property and is a criminal offence which could lead to prosecution.”

Anyone caught vandalizing a camera could serve up to four years in jail.

One reported Blade Runner said,  “In terms of damage it's way more than what [Khan and TfL] have stated. It's at least a couple of hundred.

“Snipping, damaging with hammers, painting, disabling on a circuit level and removing. They are unbolted and they are snipped. The tools they use to install them are the ones we use to remove it. We don't want this. It's a way to try to . . . restrict our movements. F*** them. It will not happen because we haven't done anything to deserve it.”

In addition to disabling cameras, Londoners are also rebelling by refusing to pay ULEZ climate fines, bucking hundreds of thousands of pounds in penalties. Even some local councils have joined the revolt and notified Mayor Khan that they will not allow TfL to erect ULEZ signage or cameras in their jurisdictions. One British veteran made headlines for going on a seven-day hunger strike to protest the mandate.

Last week Mayor Khan blamed “COVID deniers” and “conspiracy theorists” for “weaponizing ULEZ” mandates.