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Original poster

What can you tell me about CCTV?

15 replies

BackforGood · 07/12/2020 17:20

Assume I know nothing and you'd be right

I live in a Victorian house, so not much space between the front of the house and the road. Because of the positioning of the bend in the road, it is quite a popular spot for cars to either full on crash, or sometimes 'clip' any cars parked outside our house.

Some stop. Some don't.

Is it possible to install a camera that records the traffic coming down the road and hits ours or neighbours cars or friends cars, then drives off ?
How does it record ? (Told you I know nothing)
Does it stay on record for 24 hours or something then get filmed over ?

OP posts:
MojoMoon · 07/12/2020 17:31

nest or ring outdoor cameras might work for you if the distance between house and road and are simple to use and set up. Footage quality is good.

You get a certain amount of storage (but not that much) or can pay an annual fee for a lot of storage so footage is stored for a very long time.

You'd need a power supply to them so probably need an electrician unless you happen to have a power supply there already

MojoMoon · 07/12/2020 17:33

I should explain this all cloud storage - it saves the footage over wi-fi etc. You can also watch the footage live on an app on your phone or tablet.
They record all the time - you just plug them in, connect the app and it's off.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 07/12/2020 17:34

If you are recoding images that are beyond your boundary (and you would be) then you also need to consider the following;

... if your system captures images of people outside the boundary of your private domestic property... then the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) will apply to you, and you will need to ensure your use of CCTV complies with these laws.

ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/^

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 07/12/2020 17:34

'recording' not 'recoding'

PresentingPercy · 07/12/2020 17:44

You cannot record the road or pavement. Just your property.

Original poster
BackforGood · 07/12/2020 18:14

Thanks for the answers so far.

The thing about not recording the road doesn't make sense to me, as you can record on a dash cam, can't you ? Indeed, there are quite often police appeals for anyone with dashcam footage.

OP posts:
MojoMoon · 07/12/2020 18:55

You absolutely can record the street. It's not illegal.
BUT you would be a "data controller" in the eyes of GDPR which technically means you have some responsibilities.

  1. Don't record your neighbours front garden or shared garden, driveway, pathway, through their window or anywhere that they may have more expectations of privacy.Public road is another matter.
2.put up signs saying you are recording on CCTV (good crime deterrent anyways even if it's not actually true)
  1. Ensure the footage is kept safely (if you use cloud storage then password protected etc, don't let your kids or other family members have the password). Don't post it on social media etc.
  2. Don't keep footage for ages. If your issue is people damaging cars then you can delete all the footage from nights when no cars are damaged soon after.
  3. Technically people can make a subject access request and ask for copies of the personal information (in this case video footage) you have of them or ask you to delete footage of them. If the footage is relevant to a crime or legal issue you don't need to agree to this. If not, and it's just a bog standard night outside your house, delete the footage on a regular basis anyway and it's not an issue.
  4. You don't need to register with the ICO - earlier drafts of the law said you should but they changed that.
  5. As long as you can justify why your need for the filming should outweigh someone in the street's privacy, then it is permissible. In this case, you can point to a regular pattern of crime and damage as justification.

ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

Original poster
BackforGood · 07/12/2020 19:23

Thank you @MojoMoon

That seems to make sense to me.
There would be no issue about neighbours' drives or paths or windows - it would just be the road.
Yes, we have had quite a bit of what is classed as 'petty crime' recently - People walk up the road with those devices that unlock car doors if you don't lock your car keys away in a metal box..... and there have been 2 incidents in the last few days of people pushing their way into houses when someone has opened their front door, so if it helped with either of those, it would be a bonus, but the real point (for us) of forking out is being fed up of people who think it is okay to damage other people's cars and then drive off.

Next question - I don't think I know anyone with CCTV to recommend a company to me - is there a 'registration' or something I should be asking to see, to show they are a legit company ?

OP posts:
OnTheBenchOfDoom · 07/12/2020 20:20

How high up do you need the camera?

We have a Ring doorbell so obviously at chest height plus other Ring cameras, one is of our drive and we also have a high up one over the top of a side door which has a solar panel on it to charge it as changing the battery in that would involve a step stool. We have a spare battery so we can just change out the depleted ones when the app tells us they are low.

No wires needed, everything you need to attach the Ring is included in the box including the drill bit. I believe we pay £8pm for several devices and it can store 30 days of footage.

Original poster
BackforGood · 07/12/2020 20:43

Hmm. I don't know about height - I guess it would have to be higher than front door height, to be able to get the angle to catch registration plates as the cars drive down the road. Not really thought into that level of detail yet.
However, thank you for those details Smile

OP posts:
Funf · 08/12/2020 17:38

Mojomoon is spot on, the placement of the cameras is critical so you capture number plates faces etc do some googling dont just stick them up. as an example we have two on the front of the house one is high up the other is under a bay window people dont notice it and it captures a full from image as they walk up the path

Original poster
BackforGood · 08/12/2020 19:35

Thank you - yes, I'd never have thought to put one under the window Smile

OP posts:
Findahouse21 · 08/12/2020 20:17

My husband has a hard wired dash am that starts recording even if it's parked and it detects any unusual movement. It recorded the other day because a branch fell onto the car. Would that be an easier option?

Burnthurst187 · 08/12/2020 20:44

The law surrounding only recording your own property is a strange one. My cameras front and rear do record more than my own property but if any neighbour's ask to view my footage I don't have to show them so they would never know for certain. You can't tell by looking at the cameras

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