Bullying and cctv

julie8314dave

Just wanted some advice really, my son is a year 8 student, since he first started school my son and a lot of his friends have had a hard time with a bully, who is quite a solid lad. he keeps punching the kids taking their bags and throwing clothes and shoes around in the changing rooms.

To cut a long story short this boy was picking on my sons friend, my son was so fed up with him he went over and kicked this boy in temper(wrong i know) this boy retaliated and punched my son in the face, my son then put him to the floor in self defense. We were called up to the school and both of them (my son also ) where put in detention,

I might add my son is a competitive Judo player but knows that it must not be used but only in self defense.

Monday morning my son went to school, once again a punch in the back from this boy, my son told head of year as he was asked to, we were told it was being dealt with.

This morning i got a call at work asking if i could go to school as there had been another incident and that my son had been hurt and may need to go to the hospital to be checked.

The school told me that they were going to check the cctv cameras to see what had happened, they told me that this boy had punched my son, then when my son hit him back a year 10 boy literally grabbed my son and threw him smashing into the ground. my son hit his head and has a strained wrist that has been strapped up with a metal bar and that has put him out of a big competition, and for judo for about 6 weeks. however the school rang to say that they have looked at cctv and it looks like my son hit this boy first, my son swears blind he did not and quite a few people have come through as witnesses to say that this was not the case, they also told my son that this year 10 boy was violent.

We have asked if we can see footage they have said no, i have asked if they can get someone else to look at footage and maybe go back a little to see the bigger picture.

I will add my son is a lovely quite lad who is very popular at school and would never bully anyone but hates injustice. Can anyone tell me what my next step is with this. i.e can i get an independent person to look at this.

Sorry for the long post but had to get it off my chest.

Flyonthewall

https://www.gov.uk/request-cctv-footage-of-yourself

"You have the right to request closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of yourself.
The CCTV owner must provide this within 40 days, and can charge up to £10.
You need to make a request in writing to the owner of the CCTV system. The owner’s details are usually written on a sign attached to the camera, unless the owner is obvious (like a shop)."

Judging by the .gov site I'd say you have a right to view the footage. I'd be pushing the issue further and asking why not. This was a rather serious incident and you have the right to know exactly what happened.

If they still refuse I'd be going higher. So if it's the head of year says no go to the head of school and so on.

julie8314dave

thank you for your quick reply, does this also apply to schools because they are saying that other children are on there, as i told them i am not interested in the other kids i just want to see what happened to my son, not sure if the school are covering up here or not. But will ask for a meeting with the head also thank you.

Poppy9

You can go to the police to say your son has been assaulted. The police can then view the CCTV

NewShadow

This may help

Subject access requests
Individuals whose images are recorded have a right to view images of themselves and, unless they agree otherwise, to be provided with a copy of the images. If the school receives a request under the Data Protection Act it will comply with requests within 40 calendar days of receiving the request. The school may charge a fee for the provision of a copy of the images. If the school receives a request under the Freedom of Information Act it will comply with requests within 20 working days of receiving the request. As a general rule, if the viewer can identify any person other than, or in addition to, the person requesting access, it will be deemed personal data and its disclosure is unlikely as a Freedom of Information request. Those requesting access must provide enough detail to allow the operator to identify that they are the subject of the images, and for the operator to locate the images on the system. Requests for access should be addressed to the data controller.
Refusal to disclose images may be appropriate where its release is:
 Likely to cause substantial and unwarranted damage to that individual.
 To prevent automated decisions from being taken in relation to that individual.

http://www.jkhs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PM_cctv.pdf

It's from a specific school, but quotes the underpinning legislation.

An email to the ICO cc'ing the school can clarify and ensure the school retain the data until the facts are determined.


ETA - better document - https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1542/cctv-code-of-practice.pdf

The above is the CCTV code of practice as issued by the information commissioner.

Page 15 - section 5.2.2 - covers disclosure

Disclosure of information from surveillance systems must be controlled and consistent with the purpose(s) for which the system was established. For example, it can be appropriate to disclose surveillance information to a law enforcement agency when the purpose of the system is to prevent and detect crime, but it would not be appropriate to place them on the internet in most situations. It may also not be appropriate to disclose information about identifiable individuals to the media.

Any other requests for information should be approached with care as wider disclosure may be unfair to the individuals concerned. In some limited circumstances it may be appropriate to release information to a third party, where their needs outweigh those of the individuals whose information is recorded

When disclosing surveillance images of individuals, particularly when responding to subject access requests, you need to consider whether the identifying features of any of the other individuals in the image need to be obscured. In most cases the privacy intrusion to third party individuals will be minimal and obscuring images will not be required. However, consideration should be given to the nature and context of the footage.

Judgements about disclosure should be made by the organisation operating the surveillance system. They have discretion to refuse any request for information unless there is an overriding legal obligation, such as a court order or information access rights (see sections 5.2.3 and 5.2.4).

section 5.2.3 is about DPA and FOI

julie8314dave

Thank you so much, this is very helpful.

Flyonthewall

julie8314dave wrote: »

thank you for your quick reply, does this also apply to schools because they are saying that other children are on there, as i told them i am not interested in the other kids i just want to see what happened to my son, not sure if the school are covering up here or not. But will ask for a meeting with the head also thank you.

The .gov site says they can edit the footage to protect the identities of other people.

You said there were quite a few witnesses who came forward. It's highly likely they're the ones on the CCTV so if you're aware of who they are anyway there's no reason for them to hide their identities.

The law applies to schools too.

I found this which you may want to read, it appears to be for all schools:
http://www.jkhs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PM_cctv.pdf

Page 4 and 5 say about viewing CCTV. Basically as it says on the .gov site about the Data Protection Act and so on.

As said already, it was an assult so you could go to the police. Best to try and talk to the school first though.

Edit: beaten by someone else with that link lol. Wasn't sure if it was a policy for a specific school but it does say "Suitable for: all types of maintained schools." and basically states the law so applies to this situation.

Poppy9

If it was my child being attacked either in or out of school I would report to the police. Schools are either reluctant or have their hands tied in dealing with bullies.


You can also inform your local councillor of the issues you are having with the school and write to the school Governors.

julie8314dave

Thank you so much, this is very helpful.

NewShadow

Generally speaking, the police are reluctant to get involved in school bullying issues.

Here's the official guide - https://www.gov.uk/bullying-at-school/the-law

but basically, until you've exhausted the schools process, or if someone is in immediate threat of harm (not fear of, or was in, is in active threat of harm) the police don't generally get involved.

http://www.bullying.co.uk/bullying-at-school/advice-on-contacting-your-child-s-school-about-bullying/

and the government funded national bullying charity (or at least one of them) in case you want to call someone for advice.

Poppy9

NewShadow wrote: »

Generally speaking, the police are reluctant to get involved in school bullying issues.

Here's the official guide - https://www.gov.uk/bullying-at-school/the-law

but basically, until you've exhausted the schools process, or if someone is in immediate threat of harm (not fear of, or was in, is in active threat of harm) the police don't generally get involved.

http://www.bullying.co.uk/bullying-at-school/advice-on-contacting-your-child-s-school-about-bullying/

and the government funded national bullying charity (or at least one of them) in case you want to call someone for advice.

From your link
1. The law

Some forms of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police. These include:

• violence or assault
• theft
• repeated harassment or intimidation, eg name calling, threats and abusive phone calls, emails or text messages
• hate crimes

2. Reporting bullying

You should report bullying to your school in the first place - or someone you trust if it happens outside school, eg in a club or online.
Tell the police if the bullying involves a crime.


Point 1 tells you what a crime is. Point 2 tells you to report to police if it's a crime.


If you make a complaint of assault the Police have to deal with it. They can't tell you "go through schools complaint procedure first". An assault is illegal and if the Police failed to deal with it and the child was seriously injured in a subsequent assault the officer who dismissed the complaint would be held to account.


If you do complain make sure you have a Police Officer deal with it. Don't let them palm you off with PCSO. Police officers have the training to deal with these situations.