CCTV Camera's in Neighbours garden!!!!!

pinkjaney

My parents are in their mid 70's and the next door neighbour has just installed CCTV camera's in his garden. The neighbour told dad that it was a security issue (they live in the middle of nowhere fields as far as the eye can see) and when asked said the cameras do not look into mum and dad garden but they have since found out that the neighbour has told other neighbours (there is only 6 houses in the street) that he installed them cause my dad has been throwing dog muck on his cars (if it was not so insulting it would be funny) he will not prove that the cameras do not look into mum and dads and visitors to them do feel intimidated by the cameras. Also the when the neighbour brought his property there was an extension and the shower room window was a sealed unit which he has now replaced with a frosted normal window which looks staight in to their kitchen so if its a hot day they cant leave the back door open because the new window is open 24/7 and mum and dad feel they no longer have a privacy (the shower room is downstairs)

Any advice please cause this is all now really upsetting my parents and is starting to affect their health

pimento

If it's a frosted window, how does it look into their kitchen?

Shimmyhill

There is not a huge amount they an do, it would only be an issue if the camera is recording your parents in their house.

This is from the Police FAQ section:

"Many people are installing CCTV in their properties as a home security measure as it has proved to be an effective tool in fighting crime. If the camera is recording you in your home, a place where you would expect to have total privacy then there could be an issue with regards to invasion of privacy.

Firstly, it would be advisable to speak to your neighbour to see if it is possible to move the camera so that it does not point at your property. If this is not possible and you want to take further action you would need to seek legal advice from a solicitor."

Minxy_Bella

Leylandii??

WestonDave

To be fair if I moved into a house and found a shower room with no means of venting the steam etc out, I'd be having an opening window put in double quick before condensation and mould start building up.

pinkjaney

with regrads to the window although its frosted glass it has a top opener which is open all the time never closed and thats the bit that looks into my parents house (the neighbour is that petty you can see the pair of them in the shower room looking through the window trying to listen to the conversation my parents are having)

Leylandii the neighbour has planted them already (right next to the soak away which is about 60 years old mum and dad are not on main sewage)

The neighbour keeps telling my parents that he is going to pull up their privete hedge cause he dont like it and the cameras are the topping on the cake but i am sure that somewhere i have read that if the cameras are on my parents property are looking on to the public highway he has to move them due to data protection act etc any advice would be helpfull

pinkjaney

There was an extraxtor fan which the person before had with no problems.............................................

pinkjaney

have found this on home office web site:

Using your domestic CCTV installation

In general, private CCTV installations owned by members of the public should not be directed beyond the boundary of their own property. However there is no legislation regulating the use of privately owned CCTV. It is important to be mindful of the privacy of others and respect neighbours’ privacy. Placing the camera in a way that is intrusive could lead to claims of invasion of privacy and harassment.
Private CCTV should be used to ensure the security of the property it is installed on, rather than recording the activity of neighbours. The boundary of a garden/property is a very good guideline beyond which activity could be considered intrusive. Security of the home is only breached if the boundary is crossed by someone intent on causing damage or committing a criminal act.

and also this on another forum
Further to all your discussions re: cctv I can tell you the outcome of our particular case where the owner of a private, domestic cctv system was deiberately filming his neighbours garden/recreational area.

1st just to clarify, The ICO confirmed to us that private cctv does not come under the data protection act, even if the system films, records and stores footage.

As to how we dealt with our cctv problem........

The Home Office Respect web site contains information for owners of private cctv system (see link below)
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100405140447/http://asb.homeoffice.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=12624#InvasionPrivacy

Scroll down to section titled 'using your domestic cctv installation'. The guidance states clearly that you should not film outside the boundary of your own property. There is also a word file at the bottom of the web page which gives further guidance and states that a person may be liable to prosection under the Harassment Act if cctv is not used responsibly.

Although this is now an archived web page ( since the general election) we used this as evidence to show the police that there was guidance from the government on use of private, domestic cctv. The police formally warned the neighbour that their course of conduct could be viewed as harassment. The cctv was moved.

Also, the Protection from Harassment Act allows you to take a civil case under the same legislation.

Last year Andrew Rennison was appointed as interim CCTV regulator with a remit to examine regulatory frameworks for private and public sector cctv. We have since written to him to bring our personal case to his attention and we're pleased that he has responded.If the new governemnt keep this post I'd advise you to write to him about the lack of regulations regarding private cctv.

We 'won' our battle. I'd advise anyone who is being harassed by a neighbours cctv system ( and it is harassment!) to keep going until you have resolved it to your satisfaction.

So there is something we can do

maveli

If it really bothers you and you can afford annoying your neighbour then you can do this DIY project of blinding the CCTV. You need to buy couple of items and may cost a max £20.00
1.> a fake CCTV which can be tilted 360 degrees in both direction
2.> A laser torch (can get on ebay for £10.00)

Now insert the laser torch into the fake camera
mount the fake camera in line of sight to your neighbours CCTV. adjust it so that the laser beam point to neighbours CCTV.


Good luck

amcluesent

>cause my dad has been throwing dog muck on his cars<

Well elderly people do start losing their faculties, if it happens gradually you may not be aware.

pinkjaney

my dad would not even think about it let lone do it. no nfh is a control freak and controls everything in his life and thinks my parents should do want he tells them. The guy is a jerk