CCTV, Privacy and The Law
By: Jeff Durham (22 May 24)
Wherever we go about our daily business in the UK these days, it appears that we will never be too far away from being captured on CCTV. For most law abiding citizens, this rarely presents a problem. We have come to recognise CCTV as almost part and parcel of our daily lives.
Many people welcome CCTV on the streets of our towns and cities in the fight against crime. It can also help to secure the convictions of criminals who might have otherwise been able to go about their business and remain undetected.
The Laws Relating to CCTV
The main laws governing the installation and use of CCTV is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998, but this only applies to businesses and organisations and NOT to domestic property. It’s crucial that people recognise that distinction. If you’re concerned about a company’s use of CCTV, that’s a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to deal with under the statutes that have been laid out under the Data Protection Act.
Is it Legal?
Yes, it is perfectly legal as long as due care is taken. Most people who choose to install CCTV at home do so primarily to deter would-be intruders from trespassing onto or breaking into their homes, and this is completely legitimate.
You cannot stop your neightbour from installing a CCTV system or from operating any kind of video recording device, such as a camcorder. For example, Using CCTV At Home can often help police secure a conviction for crimes that have been committed, such as a theft of a car parked outside your home or to identify individuals who are engaging in Anti-Social Behaviour.
That said, in such cases, the CCTV system you might have at home is more likely to act as a deterrent. This is simply because in a residential area would-be criminals are likely to be far more aware of residential CCTV installations, and so are more likely to avoid doing anything which might contravene the law.
In cases of people who are able to provide video evidence of crimes or acts of anti-social behaviour being committed outside their own homes, that will usually come about as a result of some covert filming using a camcorder or digital camera.
When you could be Breaking the Law for Having CCTV at Home
While home installation of CCTV does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Data Protection Act, if the home installation has not been carried out correctly or is being used for a purpose other than for which it was designed, then you may have a case for taking further action under totally different laws.
For example, if you have a camera which is pointed directly at another person’s property or it’s suspected that it can capture part or all of a neighbour’s property, they might have a case to take action against you under legislation covered by the Human Rights Act. They might have sufficient grounds to say that they have had their privacy violated, that your CCTV system is tantamount to harassment and even voyeurism.
In such cases, they can get the police involved if you're not able to come to some agreement with regards to what the camera(s) can capture and to make modifications to the installation, if necessary.
Interested in Branding, a Website or Graphic Design?
You can receieve an elegantly built, fully customised website that generates enquiries for just £399, merchandise design from £59, or illustrations from just £35, all unique to you and your brand. Check us out here.
Further Reading
Ask for Advice or Share Your Story...
The trouble with this cctv stuff,is its a double edge sword situation. On the one hand you have the genuine security element and then on the other you have people who are using them for prying or intimadation purposes. Police certainly dont want to know :(
Maz - 22-May-24 @ 1:04 PM
I live in a purpose-built flat one if the flats is separate it's a courtyard.The man in the court yard ive just discovered he has camera's everywhere facing the two entries so he can see who is coming and going he also has them in the carpark and several other places.hehas the cameras in his living room next to his TV so he is permanently looking at them he also makes comments like who was that delivery for etc this surely can't be allowed we are being watched it's voyeuristic and I don't want him looking at who is coming and going and everyone else agrees
Winwenders - 21-May-24 @ 12:41 PM
Hello does anyone know whether there is a legal required distance from your neighbours house to your own house for a cctv camera as in a camera near our bedroom window. Its on his boundary but very near and level with our bedroom window. Also is it legal to print out pictures off the cctv camera as in my neighbour came round with pictures of me that he had printed off from his cctv as apparently i had set foot over his boundary and it was literally a foot ):he is a creep and a bully and i have had trouble with him before, it did make me feel very uncomfortable knowing he is doing this ):
Maz - 17-May-24 @ 8:05 PM
We have problem neighbours for the last 4 years and it's getting worse, there's drugs dealing, prostitution,hatred, verbal abuse and 10 times the council have told her to take her cctv down, due to her bullying and harassing an 93 year old lady living opposite, the police have been there several times because of harrassment, the house has been raided due to drugs.
The problem is is always been a trouble maker and if anyone seeks to this elderly neighbours she accesses them of talking about her, she's even sent hate mail to other neighbours who talk to them.
This situation is out of hand, this elderly lady is scared to look out of the window, close her curtains, they've also had their car scratched, these people ate making their lives hell,
They take the cctv cameras down but 5 minutes later when the housing people have left they put them back up.
No one should have to live like prisoners in their home, and even though its s council estate, and they've warned this women she just laughs and brags about it.
What else can we do, it's difficult for this elder lady to move cause she needs an adapted house and there's none about. So she's stuck.
I can't put my name on her because if she sees it I know my life won't be worth living she'll make it hell,
Jojo - 18-Feb-24 @ 9:38 AM
My grandson is buried in the local cemetery, and a man in a house has cctv in his back garden, but it records into the cemetery. Recently my daughter was there with her daughter and their dog, and a man from the council came down to say that it was reported to them by this man that a dog was running around the cemetery not on a lead. The man from the council saw that this was not true and the dog was lying down. Surely this is illegal as the guy must be sitting at his cctv screen watching.
Lormal - 24-Jan-24 @ 8:40 PM
Hello, my neighbor placed a CCTV camera in his house, this camera rotates and is filming the door of my house which is far from the street, this neighbor is problematic, I don’t want him to film the door of my house, what can I do? Can I put something on the wall of my house that blocks the view of the camera facing my door?
Fabio 24 - 10-Jan-24 @ 7:38 PM
Hello, my neighbor placed a CCTV camera in his house, this camera rotates and is filming the door of my house which is far from the street, this neighbor is problematic, I don’t want him to film the door of my house, what can I do? Can I put something on the wall of my house that blocks the view of the camera facing my door?
F*** - 8-Jan-24 @ 1:45 PM
This advice is incorrect.
This is from the ICO website:
Data protection law says that people who capture images or audio recordings from outside their property boundary using a fixed camera, such as a CCTV camera or smart doorbell, should:
tell people that they are using recording equipment;
in most circumstances, provide some of the recording if asked by a person whose images have been captured;
regularly or automatically delete footage;
in most circumstances, delete recordings of people if they ask; and
stop recording a person if they object to being recorded, but only if it is possible to do so. For example, if they can point the camera in a different direction but still use it for the same purposes, eg keeping their property safe.
Rachel Cave - 21-Jul-23 @ 1:40 PM
Hi all...I live in a council flat...there's no CCTV installed at all and when i queried the council,was told it's against people's privacy...I recently had a parcel delivery left on door because i wasn't home it was taken by time I had arrived home... obviously been pinched and nobody is owning up...am I within my rights to install a camera just on my own doorstep?
Miss_Understood - 20-Jul-23 @ 6:47 AM
What is the law re PTZ cameras when used on a residential property? These cameras go far beyond what CCTV camera are capable of.
SpotOn - 19-Jul-23 @ 10:07 AM
