contents
- Foreword
- About this code
- What this code covers
- Deciding whether to use CCTV or continue using CCTV
- Ensuring effective administration
- Selecting and siting the cameras
- Using the equipment
- Looking after the recorded material and using the images
- Responsibilities
- Staying in control
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
- Appendix 3
CCTV code of practice
6. Selecting and siting the cameras
Any CCTV images must be adequate for the purpose for which you are collecting them. It is essential that you choose camera equipment and locations which achieve the purposes for which you are using CCTV. Both permanent and movable cameras should be sited and image capture restricted to ensure that they do not view areas that are not of interest and are not intended to be the subject of surveillance, such as individuals’ private property. The cameras must be sited and the system must have the necessary technical specification to ensure that images are of the appropriate quality.
Example: Check that a fixed camera positioned in winter will not be obscured by the growth of spring and summer foliage.
- Have you carefully chosen the camera location to minimise viewing spaces that are not of relevance to the purposes for which you are using CCTV?
- Where CCTV has been installed to deal with a specific problem, have you considered setting the system up so it only records at the time when the problem usually occurs? Alternatively, have you considered other privacy-friendly ways of processing images? For example, some systems only record events that are likely to cause concern, such as movement into a defined area. This can also save on storage capacity.
- Will the cameras be sited to ensure that they can produce images of the right quality, taking into account their technical capabilities and the environment in which they are placed?
- Is the camera suitable for the location, bearing in mind the light levels and the size of the area to be viewed by each camera?
- Are the cameras sited so that they are secure and protected from vandalism?
- Will the system produce images of sufficient size, resolution and frames per second?
In areas where people have a heightened expectation of privacy, such as changing rooms or toilet areas, cameras should only be used in the most exceptional circumstances where it is necessary to deal with very serious concerns. In these cases, you should make extra effort to ensure that those under surveillance are aware4.
To judge the quality of images that will be necessary, you will need to take into account the purpose for which CCTV is used and the level of quality that will be necessary to achieve the purpose. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch5 recommends identifying the needs of a CCTV system by using four categories:
- Monitoring: to watch the flow of traffic or the movement of people where you do not need to pick out individual figures.
- Detecting: to detect the presence of a person in the image, without needing to see their face.
- Recognising: to recognise somebody you know, or determine that somebody is not known to you.
- Identifying: to record high quality facial images which can be used in court to prove someone’s identity beyond reasonable doubt.
Their guidance gives more detail on the quality of images needed for each of these purposes, and should be consulted when choosing equipment.
4 The use of signs is included in the section on Responsibilities
5 CCTV Operational Requirements Manual (v4.0 55/06), available from http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov.uk/hosdb