Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

CCTV pointing to child’s bedroom

104 replies

Tina2705 · 14/06/2020 21:34

My neighbour has put a CCTV camera on a flat roof which is pointing to my 9 year old daughter’s bedroom. The police came and said they cannot do anything as on his monitor the window is blocked. We all know how easy it is to just change the settings but the police think he will not do it....

OP posts:
SharpieInThe · 14/06/2020 21:37

Take a photo of the camera and post in your local fb group asking if anyone knows if this is legal.

Or just spray paint nonce up the side of his house.

SummerDayWinterEvenings · 14/06/2020 21:41

Keep calling them.You have a right to privacy. Keep stating that it's a safe guarding issue. Invoke the law: “The Right to Respect for Private and Family Life, Home and Correspondence”

SummerDayWinterEvenings · 14/06/2020 21:43

Also ask the police if you can invoke Sarah's Law and see if he has got any convictions. IF the police won''t do anything -I would complain and say this is a child -she has a right to privacy and to be in her bedroom and not harassed. I'd take it further with the police and make a formal complaint.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

9 year olds
stella1know · 14/06/2020 21:49

That is extremely dodgy and I am surprised there is such a legal loophole available. If it isn’t provably criminal Hmm it would surely still be a tortious breach of privacy. What is his justification for the cctv and where it is pointing. Describe him.
As a contrast, in Germany here you cannot have cctv pointing at a neighbours’ land/home. Only within your own boundaries.

stella1know · 14/06/2020 21:52

Keep her curtains closed for now at all times, get thicker ones if they show shadows when the light is on. and please watch over her (and watch him) while she is playing in the garden and other rooms. Keep detailed notes of when the camera was put up, its location, and any other communication with him.
This is extremely strange. Take care please.

BlueVinca · 14/06/2020 21:53

That's horrible. What do the police mean about the window being blocked?

strandedatthedrivein · 14/06/2020 21:56

For now I'd invest in some privacy film, you can get all sorts of patterns. I got some from B&Q, just cut to size and spray the window with water to attach.

PepperMooMoo · 14/06/2020 22:02

Can you knock the neighbour and ask them what it's for and express your concerns?

InvisibleWomenMustBeRead · 14/06/2020 22:09

Id knock on the neighbours door and ask what they're playing at. I'd also continually call the police, invoke Sarah's law and shame them on social media. No way would I let that camera stay in place. Good luck Op.

Ernieshere · 14/06/2020 22:12

Who lives there?

LockdownMayhem · 14/06/2020 22:13

Well, it depends on what you mean. Is the camera supposedly pointed at something else but includes your dd's bedroom, or is all it could possibly be pointed at is your dd's bedroom?

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 14/06/2020 22:15

Have you actually spoken to your neighbour ? Is it deliberate or a mistake?

MamaLion1319 · 14/06/2020 22:16

I'm the type to rip the camera down and whack him with it if I thought it was pointing at my daughters bedroom! However, keep on to the police, the more you call the more likely they will deal with it. Also request Sarah's Law, or maybe a consultation with solicitors. If not complain to the ICPC. Sadly these aren't quick fixes.

Soontobe60 · 14/06/2020 22:17

I think we need a diagram to see where the camera and your DDs window is.

Daisydoesnt · 14/06/2020 22:17

We have security cameras on our drive and we were told when they were fitted (recently) that they can only point onto your own private land (so for instance, the lane outside our house can not be seen on the footage). It’s because people have to be able to consent to being filmed.
So I cannot see how what they are doing is at all legal?! Are you in the UK op??

Stormwhale · 14/06/2020 22:19

What about using one way mirror film?

minniebinnie · 14/06/2020 22:20

Put a camera up filming the neighbour

LittleTopic · 14/06/2020 22:21

Sorry your police force are talking bollocks.

At our last place I was attacked by a neighbour and he got a suspended sentence for assault and used to hang around outside our front gate Hmm we put a Nest camera in our window that looked onto the path outside our front door so I would know if he was lurking nearby on the way home, and the police told me to remove it as a violation of data protection as I might record him walking to the shop, or the number plate of a car HmmAngry

LovingLola · 14/06/2020 22:22

If you are in the Uk you can contact the Information Commissioners Office.
This is from their website

*The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates and enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

If your CCTV system captures images of people outside the boundary of your private domestic property – for example, from neighbours’ homes or gardens, shared spaces, or from public areas – then the GDPR and the DPA will apply to you. You will need to ensure your use of CCTV complies with these laws. If you do not comply with your data protection obligations you may be subject to appropriate regulatory action by the ICO, as well as potential legal action by affected individuals.

The ICO has published guidance on the use of domestic CCTV and a CCTV checklist, which will help you to better understand and meet your obligations under data protection law. It is important that you read this guidance as well as the checklist, as this is a fuller explanation of your obligations to data protection law. The ICO has also published guidance for people being filmed by domestic CCTV.

If you have any questions about the use of domestic CCTV, you can contact the ICO or call 0303 123 1113. If you are unhappy about the use of a domestic CCTV system, use the ICO’s online tool to determine the best course of action in your situation.*

PrincessHoneysuckle · 14/06/2020 22:24

Dh would be up on his roof to take it down like a rat up a drain pipe.

PleasantVille · 14/06/2020 22:35

@LittleTopic

Sorry your police force are talking bollocks.

At our last place I was attacked by a neighbour and he got a suspended sentence for assault and used to hang around outside our front gate Hmm we put a Nest camera in our window that looked onto the path outside our front door so I would know if he was lurking nearby on the way home, and the police told me to remove it as a violation of data protection as I might record him walking to the shop, or the number plate of a car HmmAngry

That sounds like nonsense, millions of drivers have dashcams that record numbers plates and where people are going all day long. Police even ask for footage of incidents, where does data protection come in.

How long ago did this happen ?

Mnthrowaway20202 · 14/06/2020 22:42

Did the police state why he put up the camera up to begin with?

I’m sort of struggling to picture the layout of your properties

Walkerbean16 · 14/06/2020 22:45

can you put up like a large piece of wood on your fence to block its view?

Tina2705 · 15/06/2020 10:25

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
Tina2705 · 15/06/2020 10:27

I have spoken to safeguarding team i they said I have to put the screen on the window other wise I’m not protecting my daughter.

OP posts: