Is it illegal to record people without their consent?

ses6jwg

Due to false allegations made recently against me by EX, i have now taken to recording all contact I have with my daughter whilst at her grandads house (maternal grandparent)

In order to protect myself against future allegations I put a small voice recorder in my pocket and record all audio whilst enjoying the company of my daughter.

I've had a look online but seems to be a grey area.

Cheers

pinkshoes

You can record whatever you like, and do not need the other person's permission.

However, this can only be for your own personal use, and cannot be used for any other purpose, which is where the grey area lies... If you wish to potentially use the recorded conversation in a court of law, or for other purposes, then I'm quite sure you'd need the other person's permission.

Saying that, if the situation arose where you needed to prove yourself, then you could use the recorded to write an exact dialogue of your version of events. In some cases, it's then quite obvious that a recording exists, and sometimes it has been permitted to use it, even though no prior permission was sought.

DVardysShadow

This is so wrong. I understand roughly why you are doing it, but I don't know enough about the dynamics of the situation to know exactly what you want to achieve.

I would say that whatever the issue is, you need to think about changing something [eg the venue] so that you do not feel the need. I get the awful feeling this is likely to blow up in your face.

Emmzi

I don't know what good this would do though - Ex could always clain it happened at a later time/ off the recording.

VK-2008

i think you can do it but should anything be involved with police etc i do not think they can take it as full evidence.

LJM

it wont be accepted as evedence and i was told it was illegal to record someone without their permission

ariba10

You can record anything you like for your own use.

It is what you can do with it is the grey area.

All telephone calls, in and out, are recorded automatically at our house.

property.advert

Then presumably the people who took video this week of "Cat Woman" should be strung up as they did not get her prior written permission ?

Savvy_Spender_South

Recording.

You must inform someone you are recording their voice/actions if you wish to draw reference to it later and that reference is relevant to their actions at the time of the recording. this is because a respondent may infer they would have reacted/spoken differently if they new it would be recalled verbatim. this does not apply why the OP records his time with daughter, as it is CCTV style observation.(albeit sound) (CCTV leads the police to a suspect, subsequent investigations lead to a prosecution)

In this case, the production of 1 hr recording proving x or Y is dismissed unfortunately for the OP as the 23 hrs either side could be where X or Y did or did not occur.

Best thing you can do is say out loud so all can hear, i am currently recording our conversation. That way any argument is had knowing a recording is being made. caution, every person recorded is legally entitled to a copy of said recording and a full account of what you do with any other copies, for as long as they exist.

Then the worms start crawling out of the cans if you are unlucky.

Hotspur

For someone that works in some form of law enforcement there are many rules to follow when using recording equipment, overtly or covertly. If covert surveillance, such as the OP is doing, then you don't have to inform the other party being recorded but need approval from senior managers to ensure the recording is reasonable and proportionate

This does not apply to a private person doing the same and any recording may be used in a court (civil or criminal) but may also be subject to challenge for admissability by the other party/defence.

There could also be privacy/harrassment laws to consider when recording others however this doesn't seem appropriate from what has been disclosed by the OP

ses6jwg

DVardysShadow wrote: »

This is so wrong. I understand roughly why you are doing it, but I don't know enough about the dynamics of the situation to know exactly what you want to achieve.

I would say that whatever the issue is, you need to think about changing something [eg the venue] so that you do not feel the need. I get the awful feeling this is likely to blow up in your face.

I have had 3 nights per week contact with my daughter since split with ex Jan 2010. Last week all contact was ceased however I have managed to barter contact with my daughter at her grandads house. I am recording because false allegations have been made against me that I am teaching daughter bad language and encouraging her to hate her Mum etc.