Following legislative changes, hundreds of businesses operating CCTV equipment may be breaking the law, warns security manufacturer Checkpoint Meto.
Following legislative changes, hundreds of businesses operating CCTV equipment may be breaking the law, warns security manufacturer Checkpoint Meto. Laws surrounding the use and storage of automated data (eg, CCTV footage) are in full effect under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 and users who don’t comply are now subject to legal action and hefty fines. Simon Edgar, commercial-general manager of Checkpoint Meto CCTV in the UK says: ‘In the majority of cases non-compliance has nothing to do with complacency – it’s simply due to the fact that many organisations are unaware that the law has changed. Because of the low-key way in which the legislation was bought in and the complicated clauses of the DPA, a lot of businesses are either completely unaware of the legislation, or just confused as to what they are expected to do.’
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Under the new legislation, a Code of Practice was put together by the Office of the Information Commissioner to enforce legal control of CCTV surveillance over public areas and the processing of images of individuals captured as a result. Offering statutory guidelines to CCTV equipment operators, as well as reassurance to the public that recordings of their images are being protected, the code also provides ‘good practice’ guidelines for users. But despite the publication of the code, Checkpoint Meto says it was aware that most of its customers were either uninformed or confused. As a result, around 18 months ago, it decided to team up with lawyers from Coffin Mew and Clover to devise a series of seminars entitled CCTV and The Law’. Aimed at presenting the code in simple, practical terms, corporate law expert Amanda Brockwell and Checkpoint Meto’s Simon Edgar set out to shed light on the basic legal obligations.
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Brockwell says: ‘Among the host of safeguards necessary under the new legislation, CCTV operators are now obliged to erect signs informing the public if cameras are in operation. If signs aren’t in place, the surveillance is termed covert, which is only permitted in extreme circumstances involving crime detection and catching criminals – and even then, users must have incontestable proof that making the presence of that camera known would hinder its crime-fighting purpose. Being familiar with the DPA already, interpreting the code was fairly straight-forward for me and my colleagues, but I suspect for people not working in the legal field, establishing what is and what isn’t acceptable would be extremely hard work. Through our series of seminars, we have been able to dispel a lot of the confusion that surrounds the Code of Practice and offer businesses some sound advice on how best to fulfil their obligations at the same time."
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Edgar concludes: ‘The talks have been a huge success, providing the facts in a format that people can understand and digest. We’ve had excellent feedback from people who’ve attended the meetings and with so much confusion still surrounding the subject, intend to continue running them for some time yet.’ For further information about the seminars, ring Checkpoint Meto CCTV on 01344 701200.
