CCTV Systems and Public Policy

The Boston Marathon bombings raised some mostly muted questions about an issue that isn’t discussed much in the U.S., though it’s much more upfront in European countries, notably in the UK: privacy issues and the use of private CCTV systems. The central role of private CCTV systems on a number of commercial establishments along the route played a central role in the identification of the  two bombing suspects, but raised a quiet controversy about the prevalence of CCTV camera surveillance by both public and private organizations and persons. It also made many people extremely aware – possibly for the first time – of the lack of public policy regarding the use of surveillance camera and CCTV systems. How much do you know about the laws regarding the use of CCTV surveillance in your place of business or your private home?

In the UK, there are uniform policies across the country regarding what is permitted by law and what is not. It’s been a major issue on that front for a number of years because of the proliferation of public surveillance camera systems. The UK is well-known for the prevalence of CCTV systems used by law enforcement across the country. It’s been estimated that there are few public spaces in the UK that are not overseen by the ever present, all-seeing eye of the CCTV camera.

That’s not surprising in a country where a Member of Parliament stated, on the record, that there are no legal restrictions on photography in a public place and no presumption of privacy for individuals in a public place. That may make it seem as if UK citizens are at the mercy of CCTV systems that view their activities from the moment they step through their front doors to the moment they return from their outings. In fact, where home CCTV systems are concerned, people have many more rights than they believe.

For example, it’s a widely held belief that it is illegal to situate a CCTV camera so that it records any part of another property or the public street outside their properties. In fact, this restriction applies to public policing CCTV systems. Homeowners are exempt from this ruling, as long as they are using a CCTV camera to protect their home from burglary. The ruling also takes into account the type of CCTV camera used by the system – as long as the CCTV systems contain fewer than three cameras and none of them can be moved, tilted, zoomed or otherwise remotely operated, the property owner doesn’t have to inform the police, nor even post signs warning about the surveillance.

In the U.S., in the meantime, the policies regarding the use of private CCTV systems vary from one jurisdiction to another. In some jurisdictions, it may not be lawful to place a surveillance camera to secretly record your employees’ activities, for example, and nearly every jurisdiction prohibits placing a security camera in a public venue, such as a retail store, where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy – the dressing rooms and rest rooms, for example.

If you are installing a CCTV camera in your commercial space or a surveillance camera that will record an area outside your home, do yourself a favor and check the laws regarding the installation of CCTV systems in your city, town and state.