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.

On a practical level, calling 999 would not be of any better use than calling 101 given the police won't be heading out to catch anyone in the act. I think some posters are confusing the two with the importance of the crime.

I seem to have missed what type of spy camera it is. Is it battery operated or plugged in? Does it have a memory card slot? If so, the person who set it up has to enter the room every 48 hours or so to retrieve the card, insert a new one, and view the footage on their own laptop. I used to do this when my mum was in a care home. You couldn't monitor the footage from outside, but you probably can if you have a Ring doorbell type camera, it made things a lot harder to do something like that. Of course, in lockdown with relatives unable to enter the care home, spy cameras became inoperable but I digress.

I suppose she could set up a spy camera of her own - maybe a smart phone - to catch anyone entering the room? Aside from taking prints, I can't see what the police would do, they're not exactly on it these days.

God, if I was the OP I’d be long gone with three pages of this bickering.

Well obviously not, so you’re saying stealing scrap metal is more serious than planting a hidden camera to spy on people??
what a fucked up world we’re living in.

What use do you think reposting this on everyone’s quotes is?! A crime in progress is one that is happening right now. ie. Ongoing domestic incident, an assault, burglary etc.
a car parked illegally is technically a crime in action, you wouldn’t call 999 for that would you.
the offender is unknown in this incident, it requires an investigation, what is the point of wasting police resources and risking lives sending police on a 999 catagory 1 response for something that cannot be dealt with immediately anyway?
there is a literal police officer telling you you are incorrect, the ignorance is real.

Don’t be ridiculous. 999 is for emergencies in that moment.
This is not that.

No they wouldn't

Just because you say the same thing 20 times doesn't make it any more true.

The 999 question comes down to "does it require an immediate response".

Somebody present and actively doing something bad = 999. Officers can attend and possibly arrest.

Someone hammering on your door and qont go away = immediate response required

Here you are talking about a threat which has been nullified. Its not an emergency. There is no ongoing crime. But there is definitely an investigation needed. The police will get the information whether you call 999 or 101 and they will triage regardless. The difference is how long you get to wait on the phone to pass on that information.

If you want to claim misogyny then consider a woman trying to call 999 while being stalked by a man, and not being able to get through because of all the unimportant calls your directing through that number. And all because you weren't prepared to invest 10 minutes of your own time waiting on a 101 helpline.

Ignoring the huge derail about who she should call, I’m not sure it was wise to inform her housemates. It may well be one of them who put it there.

When you say it was found “via the uni”, what do you mean @trirose?

If she lives with any men, I would suspect the same - but that’s why police should be informed urgently (maybe even using 999) so evidence can’t be removed while waiting

Why would you compare a trivial parking offence to a serious crime against a person?

It's a different type of crime so needs a different type of police response, the scrap metal theft had people in the act to arrest immediately, no one knows who planted the camera so arrest can't be immediate and needs investigation.

I hears a court case where a young woman just had a feeling that she was being watched and found that her mum's partner installed a spy cam in the wardrobe so I could see her looking in the wardrobe mirror. Really weird that feeling that you just know something is weird. I think those days was before it could be remote and it was all wired up into a loft space.

You seem to be incapable of understanding that if people were in the act of stealing scrap metal, that you can see them doing it, can provide a registration number for the vehicle then 999 is appropriate as the offenders can be arrested in the act of committing the crime with the evidence. There is no way the person responsible for the camera can be traced immediately. The person being spyed on can't identify the offender, and the police won't be able to either just by looking.
FWIW I did work in a police control room for years. I know what constitutes an emergency.

The perpetrator may be still in the house. There may be a camera in the bathroom streaming live footage. There may be occupants of that house are currently extremely vulnerable and this situation needs managing to protect them and salvage evidence. Sorry to be blunt but these young women may have been filmed in sexual acts, using the bathroom etc and the film may be being shared. The mental health of the victim(-s) is a priority. This should not be downplayed. 999.

This thread is ridiculous.
Pages and pages of people bickering over a number to call?
Quite frankly, why the hell the OP’s first thought when this occurred was to come on to a forum such as this quite frankly eludes me anyway.

Sounds like the daughter has more sense than the OP and half the people on this thread wittering about whether this constitutes an emergency 🤦🏻‍♀️

Yeah, I hope the same

But surely thats because the criminals where there do if the police got their quickly they could catch them. In this case there needs to be forensic investigating to figure out who planted the camera so it's not a 999 call. As I understand it when it says a crime in progress it means a burglary, attack on someone or something where the criminal can be caught in the act

Oh, for God's sake...

You call 999 for a crime in progress if the criminal is at the scene and carrying out a criminal act, such as criminal damage, burglary etc. That way the police can get there quickly and arrest them.

Call 101 in this case because the criminal isn't actually at the scene.

I know it's early, but let's apply some common sense, please.

They could do a bit of detective work…

Does it use the house’s wifi? How easy is it to find the password? Label on the fridge?

Does it use a SIM card to transmit images? Does it store images and so need to be picked up?

If the battery pack is on 60% they could work back to calculate a window of time when it was left. Google the brand, power consumption, capacity of battery pack etc.

Have there been any emotional upsets, aggrieved former boy/girlfriends who might have left it? Has any work been done on the house?

They need to change the house wifi password - and not leave it on display. Search for other devices.

I hope they find resolution soon.

Why don’t all the 999 v 101 procedural types start their own thread or preferably their own website where they can discuss this for the rest of their lives? Then the OP and her DD might get some meaningful advice about the actual matter in hand.

But but but it’s a crime in progress!!

Apparantly if one copies and pastes that often enough the police will turn up at the scene, no need to even phone them

For all those suggesting 999, THINK. Do you actually think this merits a blue light response?

999 is for emergencies where there is immediate danger, violence in progress, or an offender currently on scene (for eg, stealing scrap metal as previously mentioned) where rapid attendance can prevent harm or allow the police to catch the criminals. It is NOT intended for situations where there is no immediate threat.

No one is saying a hidden camera is not a serious matter - it is, and the police will treat it accordingly.

Whooooosh

Are you now trolling??

Do you even understand the difference between being being assaulted and being spied on? I'm guessing you've never been punched

They already did.

It was "report it to the police" and "disable it"

The 999 vs 101 debate is just as pointless as the amateur detective debate about who put it there.

If someone came in and turned it on while planting it. They should/could have filmed themselves leaving the room/setting it up assuming it isn't remote.

Guard that room, the only piece of evidence you have is that camera. Now they have told the household it's not unlikely that the person who did it knows it's been found, they will be looking for an opportunity to get it out.

Search other rooms especially other girls and bathrooms. You tube hints of how to do this effectively. Shining a light around a dark room with the light next to your head so you can see any reflections on lenses etc.

Yes report to police asap and sit in that room until they can come and look.