Neighbours CCTV recording audio from our back garden

vitaweat

davidmcn said:

vitaweat said:

As I understand it, it's against the law to record a conversation without the permission of at least one party to that conversation without a court order or the permission of the Home Secretary.  From what I can see this is criminal offence under RIPA 2000.

You also have a right to privacy under the Human Rights Act and this might very well breach this law too.

If the footage is not held securely or is shared online without your permission then that is a breach of the Data Protection Act.

I can't see any of those being relevant here. The Human Rights Act, for example, is something you can only invoke against a public body.

https://www.onlinespyshop.co.uk/uk-surveillance-law-the-essential-guide/

vitaweat

brett19852010 said:

vitaweat said:

As I understand it, it's against the law to record a conversation without the permission of at least one party to that conversation without a court order or the permission of the Home Secretary.  From what I can see this is criminal offence under RIPA 2000.

You also have a right to privacy under the Human Rights Act and this might very well breach this law too.

If the footage is not held securely or is shared online without your permission then that is a breach of the Data Protection Act. 

If it bothers you, and it sure as hell would bother me, instruct a solicitor to get advice how to construct a case and then take evidence to the police showing how and why the law is being broken.

Don't worry, he has the permission of the Home Secretary so its all good.

Ah, okay.  Cool.

Ask him to say Hi to Preti for me.

davidmcn

vitaweat said:

davidmcn said:

vitaweat said:

As I understand it, it's against the law to record a conversation without the permission of at least one party to that conversation without a court order or the permission of the Home Secretary.  From what I can see this is criminal offence under RIPA 2000.

You also have a right to privacy under the Human Rights Act and this might very well breach this law too.

If the footage is not held securely or is shared online without your permission then that is a breach of the Data Protection Act.

I can't see any of those being relevant here. The Human Rights Act, for example, is something you can only invoke against a public body.

https://www.onlinespyshop.co.uk/uk-surveillance-law-the-essential-guide/

Leaving aside the fact that onlinespyshop.co.uk isn't a particularly well-recognised source of legislation or reliable legal advice, even that alludes to the relevant exceptions in RIPA and DPA for your domestic affairs:

"Public bodies, such as the police, HMRC or spy agencies are subject to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act"
"The Data Protection Act governs how data handlers, for example the local council, police or bank, manage and protect your personal data"

Davesnave

It seems to me that if the neighbour really wanted to record the OP, they would be much better buying a device that allowed close targeting in a narrow range and the capability to be virtually invisible, rather than sticking a general purpose device where all and sundry might see it.

Years ago, I made recordings of my neighbour's dogs while he was out in order to replay them to him when he arrived home. I felt he was unfortunate to miss all the delightful noises they made. However, virtually every recording was ruined by the resident robin, which would turn up as soon as I'd left the recorder and compete with the dogs. Whoever suggested the bird song recordings was definitely onto something!

Scotbot

mark88man said:

Or get a (loud) water feature, so he is always recording it and/or needing the loo

Either that or say something about having to raise the fence again and making him pay to see if he reacts (and therefore is listening) - prob best not to say anything rude 

can't see why he would need audio for any legitimate reason, so I think you are right he's being unpleasant

Or wind chimes, cheap, easy to install and likely to irritate the hell out of him!

lincroft1710

You could start conversations about keeping goats or pigs in your back garden and how big the pen or sty should be.

Or have a pre-scripted conversation where you leave a gap where every 4th or 5th word should be, he may think his equipment is faulty

societys_child

I identified the camera as having a 130 angle, and able to detect sound and motion, which automatically gets recorded and alerted via the mobile phone app.

I have some of them, I don't have sound enabled.

Though he probably can't see much on the video side, it is quite alarming that every time I open the patio doors or make a sound in my garden his camera will automatically record video and sound and alert him.

Mine are set to alert, only if someone actually enters pre-determined outdoor areas on my property, for example climbs over my back gates and roams around my garden. If they were set to spy on neighbours, I'd receive constant, never ending warnings. It'd be ridiculous, and annoying.

You say he could be recording sound when you speak, but you have no proof?

What makes you think he's interested in what you're doing when you open your patio doors?

There_Goes_The_Stingray

YoungBlueEyes said:

OP is there a history of ...unhappiness... between you and your neighbour? Any cross words exchanged? Can the camera see/hear his neighbour on the other side? Do they have a history maybe? 

Or, just a thought, perhaps it’s something completely other. Maybe he wants to see what wildlife he gets in his garden overnight. I’d love to see+hear what goes on in my garden in the nighttime. I saw a hedgehog once or twice when I moved in, now I’m knee-deep in the beggars judging by the number of little poos I find in the morning... 🙂

Yes, he's already been reported to the police for threats of violence in the past. He's not a popular figure in neighbourhood.

Concerning wildlife, no. The narrow driveway is only big enough to fit two cars behind each other with the garage setback in the garden. It forms the border between his and my garden. The garage is roughly 7 to 8 feet behind my house and the camera, which is now around 9 feet high points directly down the driveway, but will also capture part of my house, hence why I had to hire the fence 2+ years ago. It doesn't affect any other neighbours, as they are at least 30 to 40 feet away.

There_Goes_The_Stingray

Mickey666 said:

vitaweat said:

SharkMoney said:

Let’s say you win a court battle and he is banned from owning cctv equipment. He will just open his window and listen to you if he’s that bothered, or leave a mobile phone outside on record. You can’t win this. 

`No.  He cannot record the conversations of third parties without the permission of one of the parties of the conversation.

He can record his conversations with the OP but he can't record my conversation with the OP in a place with an expectation of privacy without the permission of the OP or me.

But he’s not bugging the OP’s property, where I agree there is an expectation of privacy, he’s recording what he can hear in his own property, ie the OP’s voice is loud enough to be invading his own property and intruding on his expectation of peace.  In cases of such antisocial behaviour isn’t the general advice to gather evidence?  And what better way than to record it?

The camera is only around 4 foot away from my patio, and as I suspect has been put up high to deliberately record every conversation me and my family make. Every time I open the patio doors, or make a sound in my garden i suspect the camera automatically logs and records, as it's designed to.

YoungBlueEyes

Ah ok. 

So seems like it’s time to try wind chime and mumbled gossip then 🤞🏻