Surveillance: All You Need To Know

Important CCTV & Surveillance Information

In the United Kingdom, closed-circuit television (CCTV) and video surveillance security systems are designed to monitor public behaviour and movement.

It has been a crucial instrument for authorities to detect suspicious criminal behaviour and has aided many investigations of thousands of criminal incidents and activities.

The two main forms of surveillance, CCTV and video surveillance to investigate the public’s health and safety concerns, especially regarding liability claims.

Complying with laws

The Data Protection Act 2018 has awarded individuals the right to request filmed footage of them and can do so by getting in touch with the surveillance camera owner. But it’s the DPA2018 that can make laws around CCTV use for businesses and domestic premises tricky to understand.

“businesses and homeowners privately own 96% of the UK’s surveillance cameras. 691,000 of these cameras are in London.” – IFSEC Global.

As homeowners and businesses are the prime users of these security devices, they must understand Data Protection Laws not to breach GDPR, which is punishable with huge fines.

Therefore, official sources and CCTV.co.uk often recommend that homeowners and business owners looking for wireless CCTV systems or CCTV installations choose legitimate security system providers who can assess your risks.

When CCTV is illegal

Whilst people have the right to install CCTV cameras on their property, it’s recommended to keep the cameras pointed away from neighbouring homes, gardens, shared spaces or even public streets (however, this is not always possible, and it’s not illegal). But let’s tell you a funny story, revealing a situation you should never include a CCTV camera.

Holiday letting management company, HelloGuest once took over to host property and found cameras in all the wrong places – and it turns out they’re not the only ones. Countless Daily Mail and YouTube stories have shown numerous holidaymakers discovering they’re being spied on during their stays. And whilst cameras on the external part of the property is OK, having them in areas like the showers is not! Read on through the link below for more…

‘I felt violated’: Stunned Airbnb guest, 26, claims she found a secret CAMERA hidden inside an electrical outlet pointed at the SHOWER inside her rental property.

Read more about CCTV Policy in the UK here.

The effect of CCTV on public safety

“There are 5.2 million CCTV cameras in action in the UK.” – IFSEC Global.

1. Increases perceptions of safety, therefore, increasing people’s presence
2. Deterring potential offenders
3. Unobtrusively reminds individuals to be more cautious
4. Local authorities are able to trace criminals faster
5. Missing people’s movements are often tracked better

Further official reading:

• The Surveillance Consensus: Reviewing the Politics of CCTV in Three European Countries
• Surveillance Camera Commissioner – GOV.UK
• National COVID-19 surveillance reports – GOV.UK
• Guide to the Regulation of Surveillance – GOV.UK
• How CCTV systems are used – UK Parliament

In the news:

• A National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales
• Does Mass Surveillance by Governments matter?
• Mass surveillance | Amnesty International UK
• Should we be worried by ever more CCTV cameras? – BBC
• Limiting “shared services” options to the back office would only save 3.6% of expenditure and that too is the best-case scenario, according to a NLGN report
• Housing Minister Grant Shapps today set out further steps for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2021