HE and FE institutions and public libraries are increasingly using Closed Circuit Television across their sites to ensure site security and the safety of staff, students and visitors. The Data Protection Act 1998 was extended in 2001 to cover CCTV.
Good practice
- All CCTV systems should be governed by a Code of Practice and the use of equipment should be regulated by a Procedures Manual
- Signs should be prominently displayed in the main entrances to indicate that a CCTV monitoring system is in place
- Library staff should be aware that anyone who is the subject of CCTV recording can request access to this information, if they can be readily identified from the images, have been accused of an offence or the subject of an incident. The data controller at the organisation makes the decision on granting or refusing access
Main benefits
- It acts as a deterrent
- It enables staff to be deployed more effectively
- Recordings can be helpful after an incident has happened
- CCTV positioned in entrances and receptions can be used to assist with entry control to areas not available to the public
- Secondary monitors in management premises help to prevent a crime taking place, for instance in blind or remote areas
- Where the premises are open out of hours, the security officer can use it for site monitoring
Further help
There is a discussion list for Data Protection issues at
data-protection@jiscmail.ac.uk
Information Commissioner, CCTV Code of Practice
CCTV Information website goes through all the Data Protection principles from a CCTV angle. The 
University of Birmingham have a copy of their code of practice on CCTV.