Introduction
The Company uses closed circuit television (CCTV) images to protect the Company’s property and to provide a safe and secure environment for employees and r visitors to the Company’s business premises. ,
This policy sets out the details of how the Company will collect, use and store CCTV images. For more information on your privacy rights associated with the processing of your personal data collected through CCTV images please refer to the Company privacy notice and data protection policy. .
The Company’s CCTV facility will only record images. There is no audio recording i.e. conversations are not recorded on CCTV.
Purposes of CCTV
The purposes of the Company installing and using CCTV systems include:
· To assist in the prevention or detection of crime or equivalent malpractice.
· To assist in the identification and prosecution of offenders.
· To monitor the security of the Company’s business premises.
· To ensure that health and safety rules and Company procedures are being complied with.
· To assist with the identification of unauthorised actions or unsafe working practices that might result in disciplinary proceedings being instituted against employees and to assist in providing relevant evidence.
· To promote productivity and efficiency.
Location of cameras
Cameras are located at strategic points throughout the Company’s business premises, principally at the entrance and exit points. The Company has positioned the cameras so that they only cover communal or public areas on the Company’s business premises and they have been sited so that they provide clear images. No camera focuses, or will focus, on toilets, shower facilities, changing rooms, staff kitchen areas, staff break rooms or private offices.
All cameras (with the exception of any that may be temporarily set up for covert recording) are also clearly visible.
Appropriate signs are prominently displayed so that employees, clients, customers and other visitors are aware they are entering an area covered by CCTV.
Recording and retention of images
Images produced by the CCTV equipment are intended to be as clear as possible so that they are effective for the purposes set out above. Maintenance checks of the equipment are undertaken on a regular basis to ensure it is working properly and that the media is producing high quality images.
Images may be recorded either in constant real-time (24 hours a day throughout the year), or only at certain times, as the needs of the business dictate.
As the recording system records digital images, any CCTV images that are held on the hard drive of a PC or server are deleted and overwritten on a recycling basis and, in any event, are not held for more than one month. Once a hard drive has reached the end of its use, it will be erased prior to disposal.
However, where a law enforcement agency is investigating a crime, images may need to be retained for a longer period.
Access to and disclosure of images
Access to, and disclosure of, images recorded on CCTV is restricted. This ensures that the rights of individuals are retained. Images can only be disclosed in accordance with the purposes for which they were originally collected.
The images that are filmed are recorded centrally and held in a secure location. Access to recorded images is restricted to the operators of the CCTV system and to those line managers who are authorised to view them in accordance with the purposes of the system. Viewing of recorded images will take place in a restricted area to which other employees will not have access when viewing is occurring. If media on which images are recorded are removed for viewing purposes, this will be documented.
Disclosure of images to other third parties will only be made in accordance with the purposes for which the system is used and will be limited to:
· The police and other law enforcement agencies, where the images recorded could assist in the prevention or detection of a crime or the identification and prosecution of an offender or the identification of a victim or witness.
· Prosecution agencies, such as the Crown Prosecution Service.
· Relevant legal representatives.
· Line managers involved with Company disciplinary and performance management processes.
· Individuals whose images have been recorded and retained (unless disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders).
The Managing Director of the Company (or another senior director acting in their absence) is the only person who is permitted to authorise disclosure of images to external third parties such as law enforcement agencies.
All requests for disclosure and access to images will be documented, including the date of the disclosure, to whom the images have been provided and the reasons why they are required. If disclosure is denied, the reason will be recorded.
Individuals’ access rights
Under the UK’s data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), individuals have the right on request to receive a copy of the personal data that the Company holds about them, including CCTV images if they are recognisable from the image.
If you wish to access any CCTV images relating to you, you must make a written request to the Company’s Data Protection Officer or Data Representative. This can be done by using this email address privacy@49.249.236.30. The Company will usually not make a charge for such a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee if you make a request which is manifestly unfounded or excessive, or is repetitive. Your request must include the date and approximate time when the images were recorded and the location of the particular CCTV camera, so that the images can be easily located and your identity can be established as the person in the images.
The Company will usually respond promptly and in any case within one month of receiving a request. However, where a request is complex or numerous the Company may extend the one month to respond by a further two months.
The Company will always check the identity of the employee making the request before processing it.
The Data Protection Officer or Data Representative will always determine whether disclosure of your images will reveal third party information, as you have no right to access CCTV images relating to other people. In this case, the images of third parties may need to be obscured if it would otherwise involve an unfair intrusion into their privacy.
If the Company is unable to comply with your request because access could prejudice the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, you will be advised accordingly.
Staff training
The Company will ensure that all employees handling CCTV images or recordings are trained in the operation and administration of the CCTV system and on the impact of the laws regulating data protection and privacy with regard to that system.
Implementation
The Company’s Data Protection Officer is responsible for the implementation of and compliance with this policy and the operation of the CCTV system and they will conduct a regular review of the Company’s use and processing of CCTV images and ensure that at all times it remains compliant with the laws regulating data protection and privacy. Any complaints or enquiries about the operation of the Company’s CCTV system should be addressed to Louise Harmsworth.