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Recent changes to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) CCTV Code of Practice, mean that some organisations operating CCTV may be in breach without realising it. The 2008 revisions make for clearer guidelines about the necessary changes to CCTV operator policies and practice to avoid a breach. Compliance with the 2001 Code of Practice is not enough.
Offering more explicit guidelines than in previous versions, the Code of Practice makes it clear which malpractices breach regulations. It reminds organisations that recording conversations between members of the public is not tolerated. This ‘highly intrusive and unlikely to be justified' practice is only deemed necessary in extreme cases, such as in a police custody suite.
The ICO is keen to remind CCTV users that the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA) influences operation and applies to all uses of CCTV. It also advises users that the tracking of individuals without any just cause to do so is strictly forbidden. As specified in past Codes of Practice, the ICO stresses that CCTV operators must also hold a valid Security Industry Association (SIA) license and the public should always be notified when CCTV is in operation.
The 2008 revised guidelines advise that a business should carry out an ‘impact assessment' on their usage/proposed usage of CCTV. The assessment, along with its conclusions and justifications for using CCTV, should be recorded by the organisation, possibly as part of the organisation's wider Data Protection Policy or Manual.
The security and disclosure of CCTV images is also high on the ICO's agenda. It details that images must be protected by sufficient security to ensure they do not fall into the wrong hands, be it technical (transmissions and network), organisational (disclosure policies) or physical (control rooms etc) security. With advances in technology, wireless transmissions are also identified as an area a business must secure from interception. CCTV users must also have a strict disclosure and control policy that is fit for the purpose of the system. For example, if crime detection is paramount, images should only be disclosed to law enforcement professionals. CCTV images should only be stored for as long as necessary, bearing in mind the purpose for its recording, for example, crime detection.
Check out the latest ICO CCTV Code of Practice .
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