Budgens - won't give us CCTV footage :( pah!

Astaroth

Hmm.... dont personally trust the police very much myself so wouldnt accept their "refusing" at face value.

The misses works in counter fraud for an insurance company and they frequently get requests for information from the police... Most know correct procedure and fax over a data protection release form and then within 24 hours get a fax/ email back of what they have asked for... some policemen though just phone up and ask for the details, they are politely told that they need to fill in the release form and some will get shirty and more than once the misses has had a call from a victim who says the police have told them that she has refused to give them information to which the misses has to correct that the policeman had asked her to break the law and refused to send the legally required release form.

There is no legal minimum or maximum for which they can keep CCTV footage... they shouldnt however delete it after receiving a request for it from the police in connection with a criminal investigation but if it was deleted beforehand then it is basically bad luck.

As others have said, many CCTV cameras are actually fake and the stores will often not say this directly to the police (normally say the tape corrupted etc) as the police arent known for their discretition and word would quickly get out that there is no need to worry about CCTV cameras in X stores as they are all fake.

oldbill1969

Data protection will not make a jot of difference as the tapes or hard drive relates to evidence of an offence. If the store refuses after a polite request, Police can inform them that they will use their powers to seize the equipment (this generally does the trick)

oldbill1969

It would have been quite in order to demand the tapes, can't help but feel it is a limp excuse by the Police on this one.

3.7 Seizure of items by police lawfully on premises

Section 19 gives a police constable lawfully on any premises power to seize anything that he has reasonable grounds for believing :-

(a) has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence;

(b) is evidence in relation to any offence;

and that in either case it is necessary to seize the item to prevent it from being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed. He may not however seize items which he has reasonable grounds for believing are subject to legal professional privilege.

By subsection 4 the constable may require any information which is contained in a computer and is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible if he has reasonable grounds for believing it is evidence in relation to any offence or has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence and that in either case it is necessary to do so in order to prevent the evidence being concealed, lost, tampered with or destroyed.


CCTV tapes do not constitute legal privilege in this instance.