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.

As someone who has had to call 999 as my children disappeared and I had reason to fear they had been abducted, I care very much.

Believe me, when you have made that 999 call and are waiting for an operator to pick up, knowing every second counts for your children, every ring feels like an eternity. You really don't want a delayed response because some idiot has not bothered to think about whether they need to call 999 or 101.

I am assuming it's a mixed household. A friend of my daughter's had this happen in a hmo. They were all young professionals and got on well, regularly socialising together, going to a quiz each week until one of the girls found a camera in their room. After much discussion in the house they found one of their fellow tenants had planted it. For some reason I'll never understand they decided not to report it but made him move out the following day.

It's serious but noone is in danger for their life.
Even when something is delted on a device there are means of recovery. People seem to think they can press a button and it has gone but everything is still accessible with the correct know how and the police will have experts in that field.
Exh used to work in security, he was regularly asked to recover deleted accounts for evidence.

Once OP has been told to call the police there's not a lot more to say on this one, is there? Threads where there is disagreement or a narrative run and run. Ones with a singular obvious answer do not.

It is important, however, that people understand when is the right circumstance to call 999 and 101. That does actually have real world impacts, when people misuse 999. That's why 101 was invented in the first place.

Totally aware of that, I started my emergency services career (ambulance service) 36 years ago as a 999 call handler and now operate at a senior level that requires oversight of a 999 call centre. My view on this is that it's 101 not 999. There's no immediate danger to life in the way a physical assault would be for example. The victim can take all reasonable precautions and the police will investigate by seizing the camera and proceeding from there. Part of my job is to work closely with the police and I undertake my training with the Police around major incidents/terrorism etc.

How awful. Most likely someone she lives with? Or an ex.

This happened at my uni.
It was the landlord.

I think we do understand as the last 3 pages it has been rammed down our throats ! I don’t think it’s up you to decide if the OP has anything more to say.

I really hope the OP comes back and her daughter is OK. Whether she has rang 999, 101 or Ghostbusters is irrelevant!

I should also say that misuse of 999 is one of the reasons emergency services, in particular the ambulance service struggle to respond to genuine 999 calls, there have been many campaigns such as Choose Well over the years. It's a huge issue, probably way bigger than the general public realise. Every service has it's share of regular callers who can call 999 up to 30 times over a shift. A triage system was introduce some years ago where the calls would be reviewed by a clinician and then placed in order of priority. In some cases an ambulance would not be sent. I realise I have distressed but the Police are no different, 101 is their version of Choose Well. This particular issue, even if received via 999 would be downgraded to a non urgent call simply because it is not a threat to life, the victim is able to remove herself and there are no perpetrators at the scene.

Hi there all,
We're loath to insist on what precisely is discussed on a thread but some attention to the OP wouldn't go amiss at this stage?

I think OP means the property was found via the Uni, so the property would have been on the Uni's books as potential student digs.

The advice given was to call the police, which is the correct advice. It then descended into people thinking it was appropriate to dial 999. I've both worked in a control room and had to call 999. An inappropriate 999 call prevents real emergencies being dealt with.

This is horrifically common OP. Happened to me in the 90s and this is another recent case: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0gk0x5rxwo

Omg this is horrifying op. I hope you're able to get answers soon. I bet its not the only camera in the place though

Where did I say I'd decided if the OP had anything more to say? She is perfectly free to continue to come on and say what she wants or ask what she wants.

Her OP though, and its literally there in the title was ' Hidden Camera. What do I do'.

People have answered that. If she wants to ask or say anything else she is free to do so.

Pretty much this exact thing happened to my friend when we were at uni. I have no idea if she did the right thing, but she looked at the files to see how long/what it was, and it showed the perpetrator accidentally filming himself setting it up. She then took it straight to the police station. The perpetrator was arrested, charged and eventually found guilty. He was also expelled from the university and I believe went on the sex offenders register.

Fun fact - 101 and 999 calls go into the same call handlers in most areas. The only difference is priority - they don't need to go racing round on blues and twos because there's a violent person trying to retrieve their hidden camera. They come round to collect the evidence when they have capacity to do so. It is a 101 call, not 999.

@trirose I hope your daughter's friend has received a positive response from the police.

It is not illegal for them to change the locks on their doors, even though they're renting. The barrels should be easy to replace and they can either keep the original barrels to re-install them when they leave, or make sure they give the landlord keys when they leave. That way it should protect against anyone that might have access. It could be anyone - a previous year's tenant, someone working for the landlord, or another current tenant. Cameras up and change locks!

Any news on this @trirose ?
has the police been to investigate!?

I would be asking:

Who does she live with? How many? What sex? Any relationships beyond friendship with any of them?

Does she have an ex that has been in that room?

Where did the power bank come from?

When did she get it?

Who is her landlord?

What access do they have?

Any utility/repairs/maintainance people with access?

Do not touch (may have fingerprints)
Insist a policeman comes and removes it properly and sweeps room for other devices.

How awful! Definitely the police.

999is for any crime in progress.

Read the thread.

They don’t go to the same call handlers for Met Police. Not sure about others. PP is correct - if a crime is in progress call 999, you will be triaged and they will come to you based on priority. I called 999 three times for a non violent crime in progress or just happened. One led to an immediate arrest and two did not. Both times the police came quickly and I was told I did the right thing calling.

Yes but in my experience (minute taker for LADO meetings with LA) this can take between weeks to months to recover, or it was the case back in 2014. Forensic data recovery teams have major backlogs.

I think calling 101 would be correct. Yes it might be a crime that is happening’now’, but if police officers are dispatched what are they going to do when they arrive? There’s nobody actually there carrying out the crime at that moment and nobody is in immediate danger so 999 is totally inappropriate.