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.

You may be my new favourite person, OP.

This is why I just bookmark the OP's last post and check back for updates. Not here for the squabbling, it just derails the thread.

Well said, OP.

The forms get read through quite quickly, I had a response in less than 24 hours when I did one last week. It is just an alternative to 101 and not actually a slower route.

I have always been told by both police and paramedics that if you feel at risk and you're not sure if its a 999 or not, they would rather you called than didn't - that is WHY they have call handlers to determine if it is an emergency or not!

This happened to me OP and it ended up that the guy was already under investigation for significant online sexual offences and the police came and took the evidence away. I’m really sorry this is happening, it’s incredibly unsettling and feels like such a horrific invasion of privacy. I’d suggest checking other areas like bathrooms for any more hidden devices. I hope the police have responded swiftly. As others have said if you can connect to the router and identify all connected devices- anything unusual that you don’t recognise may be a recording device- look for digital clocks or other similar devices placed in plain sight. The one I found was hidden in an alarm clock. Good luck x

The most important thing is that this issue is sorted out. It's a crime to record someone without their knowledge. The University should also be notified.

Report to police immediately
take photographs of it without disturbing it

What a shame so many people derailed this thread away from the actual issue at hand

I presume that your dd has thoroughly checked her room and bathroom too, op?

I agree she should’ve spoken to someone for Calling rather than filling in an online form probably would’ve been better

I had the misfortune of finding a sudden camera in my bedroom. As it was in a private house there was little doubt as to who had placed it there. I went to a police station to report it & can assure you they took it very seriously. I was wary of reporting it as I didnt think it would be taken seriously but the police really surprised me. Slightly different situation to yours OP but don't let anything put you off going to the police. The perpetrator went to jail eventually.

She needs to demand it's investigated and threaten to report the force for failing to safeguard women if it isn't investigated. It's illegal in so many ways and it's a known risk that a voyeur might escalate their behaviour. I hope she's OK.

This happened in one of the shared flats in the staff accommodation at the hospital - two male student nurses were convicted of hiding cameras to film women in the bathrooms; I’m unsure what sentence they received but they were thrown out of university as well. This was over 20 years ago and the police were definitely very concerned.

Exactly what I would say. No-one can say this is not a crime in progress. How do you know what is happening the other end, as in the person viewing it.
Don't split hairs as to whether an emergency call is appropriate or not, it is not the time to minimise a young woman's intimacy that she didn't choose to be violated.
Stupid thing to argue about!!

The girl who found the camera has submitted an online form. Her Mom thinks the police won’t be interested or do anything. I feel that she should have at least called 101.

I'm sorry a whole lot of PPs derailed this thread @trirose over such trivial one-upmanship.

I think your DD and her flatmates are going to need to sit down together and go through who has been in the house. They're going to need to do this methodically, as I would expect the police will ask them this.

And I'm sorry to say this, but if they have male flatmates, they'd be my first suspects. Then any boyfriends who've come to the house or stayed over. Or has any of the girls recently broken up with a boyfriend?

Then of course is the landlord a private landlord? Or have there been any tradesmen doing work in the house?

Voyeurism is predominantly a male crime (well, around 98% of sexual crime is committed by men). So who are the likely disgusting Peeping Toms?

Smart advice, looks like the thread is finally going in a more constructive direction.

they will literally tell the person calling to put the phone down & call 101.

that call could stop someone getting through that actually needs urgent.

its like all the people who go to A&E cos they couldn’t get a drs appointment that day & don’t actually need to be there

I hope all you people who derailed the thread with your pathetic arguing are bloody happy now!
😡😡😡. You have been as much help to this poor girl as a chocolate fireguard!

So if I come across a crime in progress but there is no immediate danger and no threat to life, it's not appropriate to call 999 and i have to call 101?

I suspect that will come as a surprise to a lot of people...

For god's sake please give it a rest! The OP has already been back on to express her disappointment that the thread has been taken over by idiots arguing over this. Please don't be another one.

Ignore the silly ones. Just report to the police. As someone who been to uni and lived in alot of rented houses I'm.shocked so please don't let the landlord get away with it. Hope your daughter and her housemates are ok. Id also report this to the uni. Totally understandable if you don't return on here. Just make sure this is reported x

Yes it’s a shame that she didn’t call the non emergency number but hopefully the online form will get a response soon.

There are loads of devices on the market that block and detect hidden cameras, might be worth investing in some? My question would be - Who would think they could get away with this nowadays, who wouldn"t get that you can detect things now just as easily as you can plant them, who would take the chance that no one would find it by accident or check the room for devices as many people do now in AirBnB"s or when renting flats? What would motivate them to take this chance?

Op, I hope this does get taken seriously. A discovery such as this could lead to an investigation of other activities. Someone who does this usually isn't a first timer or has other activities.

It may be that the police can determine who purchased the device. I have DC in a Uni house so it's horrendous to think this has happened.

The thread has turned into a mess anyway so I am going to speculate that this is part of some sort of scam involving maybe trying to blackmail young students who might panic and not know how to handle it, the landlord may not be directly involved.