Hidden camera found. What to do?

[trirose]

My daughter’s friend has just found a hidden camera attached to a power bank in her bedroom. She shares a house with others from uni. What should she do immediately? Trying to prevent mistakes so that they can find the fuc*er who planted it.

Jesus Christ! Leave it where it is, cover it up and contact police. Take photos too.
I'd also be putting/hiding a Ring doorbell to record the fucker coming to retrieve it!

Call the police.

Totally agree with @HerosUncle. Shudder

id Imagine whoever planted it can see she has found it and will now be panicked and probably distancing themselves. Contact the police. Does she really have no idea who could have done it , an ex or current partner ? Jealous friend .. obviously someone with access to her things 😞

She has no idea where it’s come from or how long it’s been there. It’s freaking her out. I’m disgusted.

Tell her not to touch it and call the police now.

Does she call the police now? Tonight?

They will take it seriously and investigate where it is linked to and look for any fingerprints.

She needs to contact the police immediately

Yes. Now. It’s serious. The police will make a decision about when they want to respond but she needs to report it immediately.

I’ve advised them to call 101

She said there 60% left on the battery, I’ve told them to stop touching it, they’ve already disconnected it. She’s told the other housemates to check their rooms. I’d be suspicious of everyone.

999 is fine too. It’s an ongoing immediate crime. The perpetrator may notice a disconnection and delete data and evidence.

999 is not appropriate here, 999 is for an immediate danger to life or violent crime in progress.

Is she in halls or private accommodation. If halls then she also needs to inform the appropriate uni dept. In halls they are usually on the halls wifi monitored by uni IT. The IT dept may be able to identify the owner of the camera very quickly.

It’s not just a police matter but a serious safeguarding issue for the uni.
If it’s private accommodation then police would be first port of call but I would still seek advice from the uni.

Does she have any suspicions? I think it is essential that all the girls check their rooms discretely and try not to alert the person that has placed the camera. It may be too late for that but hopefully they haven’t had chance to remove any other cameras. The bathroom would be my first port of call but this would probably the first one they remove if they know they’ve been found out.

It’s not uni halls, it’s a private landlord but found via the uni.

If any others are found it would be a good idea to touch them as little as possible - they might have fingerprints?

Also if it isn’t someone in the house then the landlord or agent will come under suspicion. They have access to the house. Depending on the camera type it may be worth looking for a relay device. Police forensics will be able to identify the type of camera and how it is transmitting images.

It is. 999 is for when any crime is in progress. Which it is on this occasion. The call handler will triage it appropriately.

Jesus Christ, no it's not

Cameras can be hidden in lots of common stuff. It’s worth checking pens and pretty much anything they don’t recognise.
I may seem a little invested but we had a member of staff who used them that obtain passwords and codes for the administration access to our computer system, the bosses online banking details and the safe access code. So now we regularly search for them and are up to date with the ways cameras can be disguised.
It’s dreadful that someone is obviously using them to “peep” on your DDs household.

Ex call handler here and current serving police officer - it’s not life and death and most certainly does not warrant a 999 call. It will be 101.

Surely either way the call handler will be able to advise? Stop shaming people for wanting a fast response to a crime. It isn't their fault the police are busy and it's better to report it as urgent and have it downgraded than the reverse.

How creepy. Hopefully police will find out th installer/peeper

Which room in the house was the power bank in?

Edited to say I missed that it was in her bedroom. Which means someone went in there and put it there. So someone who could access her bedroom easily.