Where does the law stand on neighbour cctv security cameras looking into your garden

Chickabee

To cut a long story short my next door neighbour has installed one of those cheap looking dome like security cameras on his facia board at the front and back of his house. However rather than install it centrally to view his garden he has installed it way over on the facia board so that it is pretty much viewing my garden area rather than his own. Exactly the same thing on the front of the house.
Does anyone know legally if this is allowed? We have had run-ins before so its not a case of discussing this with him,
Any advice would be appreciated

justaquestion

Well you don't know that for sure as you haven't seen the feed on his tv whether its on your garden or not, good possibility not. You really would have to see the feed to determine whether it is or not.


To be honest in this day and age I admire his sense of being security conscious.


As I don't know what the "run ins" were about maybe he feels threatened and wants to capture any future ones on camera.


You could always install camera's on your own house. Some of the dog barking prevention devices as well may look like a camera but in fact aren't.


Any chance that the run ins were about a dog barking.


Hope you get it sorted out.

leskerr

This thread on the Motley Fool covers some aspects of the issue (albeit from the POV of the person with the CCTV), and you may find useful info within it. One key point being that he will need to register with the DPA if his equipment reaches beyond his boundaries.
http://boards.fool.co.uk/domestic-cctv-and-the-dpa-13224270.aspx?sort=whole#13224270

regards
Les

Chickabee

If anything he has tried to intimidate me in the past but he picked a fight with the wrong woman! I soon put him in his place!


As for him being security conscious - he is a mid-terrace - he is just doing it to try and intimidate me - but now looks like a prize clown with his poxy cheap camera


Id love nothing more than to be able to force him to move it - if he wants to sit and perv at a single woman sitting out in her back garden then he is a sad old fool . But then he is one of those work-shy types so he has little else to be at

Zola.

Are you partying late in the night? Whats the history here? sounds like we aren't hearing the full story

:rotfl:

Milko

Any pictures of the camera in situ ... it may help to determine where it's aimed? My own cameras are on the corners of my property as that's where I can achieve the maximum coverage so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions without seeing the installed cameras lens position or the as mentioned above, the actual feed.

Marktheshark

It sounds like a pound shop fake dome camera, they do sell them

Chickabee

Zola. wrote: »

Are you partying late in the night? Whats the history here? sounds like we aren't hearing the full story

:rotfl:

I work far too many hours to be partying late in the night.
No barking dogs - just plain jealousy I'm afraid

wacko911

Cameras are always in the corners... looking in - not out unless he is some kind of weirdo or parks his car/carvan on the street and it's pointing that direction.

As for registering if your CCTV covers outside your property boundry afaik unless you are monitoring and only trying to monitor a public area it's not really required. It def a grey area and not really enforcable and most police don't have a clue about.

Most dome cameras even cheap ones have a ring of IR emitters to see in the dark. Use the camera on your phone at night to see which way they are pointing. If indeed they were just pointing at your property, I wouldn't care about the one at the front of the house as you have no expection of privicy there but the one at the back would annoy me.

No sure what I would do about, but keep it legal. An IR spotlight pointing the right direction would blind it without actaully causing it any harm and it would get your point across pretty quickly forcing him to move it. Bit childish and expensive though.

RikM

wacko911 wrote: »

Cameras are always in the corners... looking in - not out unless he is some kind of weirdo or parks his car/carvan on the street and it's pointing that direction.

As for registering if your CCTV covers outside your property boundry afaik unless you are monitoring and only trying to monitor a public area it's not really required. It def a grey area and not really enforcable and most police don't have a clue about.

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/cctv/

What if my camera captures footage of individuals beyond the boundaries of my property?

You must consider whether it is necessary for your camera to operate beyond the boundary of your property.

If your camera covers, even partially, any areas beyond the boundaries of your property, such as neighbouring gardens or the street, then it will no longer be exempt from the Data Protection Act (DPA) under the domestic purposes exemption. This does not mean that you are breaching the DPA but it does mean that you might need to take some steps to comply with it.