Is Your CCTV System Legal?

It is a fact. Almost every business has a system of closed circuit television, commonly known as a system of closed circuit television. With the falling prices of equipment, even Mom & Pop stores are now watching. And if you do not have a system of closed circuit television, you’ve probably thought about getting one. After all, you worked hard and they want to protect your investment. But have you thought about the legal issues relating to the surveillance video?

Now, before you go and remove their cameras down, relax. In the U.S., retailers are generally allowed to use video surveillance, whether or not their customers and employees are aware they are being watched. Not a bad idea to put a sign that people know that the store is under video surveillance. First, it is a good deterrent to theft. Secondly, nobody could say they never knew they were being videotaped. An even better idea is to have a video screen showing some of the camera shots for people to think you are not bluffing. And hey, kids who come into your store will have fun at being on television.

Audio recording, whether a portion of a video or not, you can put in a questionable legal field. If you encounter a situation such as employee theft or a personal matter, where you have to present evidence in court can be ejected if you have audio recorded without the consent of the people involved. As with video recording, you can let people know of their conversations may be recorded by posting a sign. Just remember, which may deter some customers, but if you believe there is a high risk of theft can be a valuable tool.

There are some other things to avoid when using video surveillance to protect your business. If there is an expectation of privacy, you can not have cameras in those areas. For example, if you need to search an office, make sure you let your employees know not to change there. If there is a problem, that area will be outside the limits of their employees because they expect privacy. You never want to have a camera in a bathroom or closet. Hopefully, the reasons are obvious. You can place cameras directly outside these areas, but make sure you can not see them.

Now with all that said, here’s the obligatory warning. You will want to check with state and local authorities to make sure it is complying with the laws in your shop is. Some good resources for finding this information are the police department, public libraries and government websites. If you have any questions about the information you find (and let’s face it, laws are generally very difficult to understand), you should consult an attorney.

So go ahead! Protect your investment, your employees and your customers. Just make sure you are following the laws relating to surveillance. No private bathroom and dressing tape. Turning the microphone unless everyone knows you are recording their conversations. And who knows? You can find some clips of interest to one of those funny video programs.