Doorbell camera footage and the law

[RingringQ]

Having seen reports about doorbell camera footage in the tragic case this week, I'm confused. When we got one, we were told (or read somewhere) that footage taken of people on the street (i.e. beyond our front garden) could not be used unless we put up a sign advising passers by that they were on camera. That made sense, as I'd heard similar about CCTV.

But now it seems the police are actively seeking out doorbell footage, which presumably could then be used in a court of law?

Can anyone clarify? We have dodgy neighbours so it might be nice to make sure any untoward incidents are caught on camera...

Can a neighbour have a camera looking right in to your garden, if they argue it is to cover the side access of their house?

I reckon foxy and friends are starting up a gardening business and getting their supplies together, very enterprising/cunning 🦊

You can film, record etc anyone in the street, path etc that you have a right to access. Filming from private land to public is ok if you have the owners permission. Few exceptions under terrorism laws.

I don’t think they always intend to use it in court necessarily. It can just help them piece together what happened.
For example if a person appears on my doorbell camera, but not on the council cctv camera that’s about 5 minutes walk away, then they can have an educated guess that the person took one of the side streets in between, and start looking there.
The footage may show a person walking in a place that they didn’t ‘expect’ (eg maybe took a different route to the one they planned/usually took). The camera might not reveal the reason for this decision (so whether they felt unsafe, or if it was just a spur of the moment decision) but it means the investigation is focussed on the right place.
If a person appears on a doorbell camera, then they know without doubt that they were there at that time. It might not be used is court but can be useful in appeals for information.

[quote cerseii]Does this help?

www.protectingyourself.co.uk/security-cameras-and-the-law.html[/quote]
It does, thank you. As with anything to do with data protection, there seem to be various shades of grey!

Thanks to everyone else who answered too, lots of helpful info.

As I understand it police have powers to receive and use personal data without the restrictions other organizations are under.

Regarding neighbouring properties, I believe cameras should be set to not cover them. You can do software masking or do it physically.

My sister & I stood on her driveway having a private chat then realised her doorbell had recorded everything!