What Is CCTV Used For?
Closed Circuit Television is primarily used to prevent crime (although critics say that criminals simply pick places which are out of range), but CCTV cameras also been used by employers wishing to check up on staff or ensure that customer service is up to scratch. They may be an intrusion on privacy, but they're now a fact of life.
Where is CCTV Used?
CCTV is permissible in public areas including shopping malls, motorways and housing estates. CCTV cameras have become more advanced in recent years and it can now isolate and track identified targets, recognise number-plates, and eavesdrop on conversations.
CCTV has spread in the last few years. CCTV cameras are now used not only on motorways, where you’ll receive warning about upcoming cameras, but also on cash machines, housing estates, and car parks. Regulations require that, where CCTV is used in a public area, there is a sign providing information for contacting the camera operator. These signs should be made visible when you enter a camera-monitored area.
How CCTV Technology Is Developing
Like other forms of technology CCTV is becoming more and more advanced. Work is underway to enable CCTV cameras to recognise types of behaviour that have been associated with criminal activity. This catalogue might include, for instance, shouting, pointing, or erratic driving. Cameras are already able to recognise an individual face and track it; the camera will communicate with its network in order to track one person as far as the network reaches, which has raised the hackles of some privacy advocates.
What are your Rights Regarding CCTV?
Quite simply, you have no right to prevent cameras from recording your movements and behaviour. The camera’s owner is permitted to install one or several cameras and keep an archive of footage that may include you, but (s)he may not use the footage to obtain information about you personally, or to observe your behaviour.
The Data Protection Act
In 1998 the Data Protection Act outlined the responsibilities of those using CCTV. However, because the DPA was designed to protect individual privacy, its guidelines do not apply to all CCTV cameras.
Provided you can show that you are not using the camera to analyse the behaviour (and invade the privacy) of any one individual, then you are entitled to put a CCTV camera anywhere on your premises. If, for instance, the owner of a small newsagent installed a CCTV camera above the till and recorded everything to a tape in case of robbery, this would not usually be relevant to the DPA as it does note violate privacy.
In a domestic context, invasion of privacy is in fact not an issue that affects privately owned CCTV. It is only an 'offence' under the Human Rights Act and that act only applies to the State. i.e. The Government, local government, police, parish councils, Health Care Trusts etc. In other words, an individual cannot infringe the human rights of another individual - in this case, the right to privacy.
A common scenario of privacy invasion using CCTV is when someone uses CCTV cameras to view their neighbour's property. As this is not actually an offence, the police will usually have to resort to using the Harassment Act to resolve the matter.
However, where CCTV cameras are installed specifically to monitor behaviour, identify potential criminals and track individuals, for privacy purposes they must be registered with the Information Commission. These cameras are subject to the DPA.
The DPA ensures that footage is reasonably captured and kept; it should be viewed by a designated staff member and not made widely available. The DPA also requires that the footage be made available to its subjects, where appropriate, and if requested. If you have installed CCTV cameras that will be subject to the DPA (i.e. you’re capturing information of certain individuals) then you can read the Information Commission’s Good Practice Guide online.
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