You want the camera where???

[Guest tanknet]

Just been to a site (school) to find out where they would like ther camera's positioned. Now as vandalism & bullying is rife in the the toilets I have been asked to install 2 camera's in both Boys & Girls. They are not looking inside the cubicles. But the boys one is looking at the urinal from the back.

Now from a legal point of view I think this would be a very delicate area and just would like some advice before I start doing the job.

Paul

[Guest Gimmick]

I am sure you will get the same response from a number of people in this forum. Don't think that is allowed. Would infringe on Privacy Laws, no matter what angle the camera is at. The parents would also go ballistic !!

[CompostCORNER]

I remember reading a year or so ago about some bloke who ran a boy scout outfit and had been 'found out' by the parents after installing a camera in the toilets. The police let him off saying something down the lines of 'If the images from the camera were being recorded, it's a crime. If it's a live image without being recorded, theres nothing they can do about it.' Not sure if the law in that aspect has been revised to accomodate such a scenario.

The best thing to do would be to talk to the police themselves. At least that way, you'll know for sure and if it is allowed, because you have formally notified the police about it, if the camera becomes the centre of any heated disputes especially with the parents, you have police back-up stating that the camera was fitted in good faith on behalf of the school.

A delicate subject indeed. Me personally, I'd pass the job up or persuade the school to fit the camera in a none delicate area of the mentioned environment. Even if it's not a crime to fit the camera without record capabilities.

Tony

[Selsport69]

I think you will find that a camera in toilets and or changing rooms is prohibited by law. All it takes is the video to get in the wrong hands and ir does not bare thinking about.

[gooner31]

the local school near me has just had a big cctv system installed due to bullying and truancy and stuff and there has been uproar about it in the local press parents are keeping there kids off school local mp is on the case school guvnors all sort all because parents dont believe the school needs cameras but the gents have been installed with a camera not pointing at the cubicles but towards the urinals.from what i can make out its still in the gents and its not getting removed.

pete

[Red Fox UK]

Our local high school has a massiv CCTV system, and a dedicated room for CCTV monitoring, abit OTT, but there you go...

There are cameras everywhere, most are PTZ rather than just standard, they did have different cams in the toilets, but they were fake...

Warren

[Guest dale]

I think you are on dodgy ground, whilst a test case has never been brought before the european court of human rights, my mate the solicitor says that he is almost certain that they would find it a breach.

Also many chid protection groups would be in uproar about such an installation, due to its potential for misuse.

[Guest Guest]

No way, dont even consider it.

I think this request would throw up some serious concerns about the person requesting the works.

The words "dont touch and barge pole" spring to mind.

[Guest Secure Eng 1]

A camera in the corridor, monitoring who goes in and out of the toilet, works well as a deterrent without causing any of the uproar.

[Guest Andyp]

Believe it or not, the last time I checked this was 'perfectly' acceptable. As long as you couldnt actually see what the person is doing it was not in breach of any law.

However, since I last checked, the DPA has expanded to cover CCTV, and in my opinion (I have trained many industry types and about 100 lawyers on the DPA and CCTV) the data( the image) would fall into the area of being excessive and not relevant to the purpose of the system. The purpose(s) of the system would be Crime Prevention, Detection and Public Safety. This would be the case whether the system is being recorded or not as the data is still being processed.

One way round this would be to blank the area of the urinals (or move the camera) and have a camera looking across the rear of the urinals so the data subject cant be seen 'in action'. This would give you a view of who is moving towards and away from the urinals but not what they are doing.

The thing you need to think about is would a data subject have a right of privacy within the camera field of view. I personnally would have an expectation of privacy while being at the urinal but not so much in the circulation area within the toilet area.

Whatever your feelings are on this subject I would ensure that you have a clear operational requirement in place which details what you are looking to record in this area and who will be monitoring the data.

A concise O.R. as well as a code of practice is essential for any site where sensitive personal data could be collected.

And dont forget, dont do all the hard work with camera positioning and writing the legal documents only to ruin it all with placing a monitor showing the 'toilet camera' in a semi public staff room. Monitor placement is almost as important as camera placement.

Andy