Neighbors CCTV intrusion.

tiggerbodhi

Hi, Fit CCTV for a living, in domestic installs the ICO and GDPR do not come into it, generally cameras are aimed to cover the person who has paid for the systems property or land, but often if this is centre image you will get coverage of neighbours gardens, the road etc, but you could see this with your naked eye from a window, ladder and a 30m boom lift if you so wanted to! there is basically no right to privacy but harassment laws do come into it, so a word with the local PCSO might be nearer the mark if you feel the cameras are watching you rather than them.
Masking is available on most of the CCTV systems out there and is easy to set up, I have had very few where neighbours have complained, most welcome it as it increases security for both, but then good camera positioning means neighbours are not over looked.
you don't need to use laser pens or flood lights as they would annoy you, but LED IR flood lights directed at the cameras work well in a white out at night.
Can they approach the neighbour to see the view of the cameras to re-assure themselves of the masking? if they really feel harassed or uneasy it would be best to involve the police rather than the council as they generally are clueless.

dj1471

tiggerbodhi said:

Hi, Fit CCTV for a living, in domestic installs the ICO and GDPR do not come into it,

Erm, the ICO don't agree with you:

if your system captures images of people outside the boundary of your private domestic property – for example, in neighbours’ homes or gardens...Then the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) will apply to you, and you will need to ensure your use of CCTV complies with these laws.

https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

tiggerbodhi

dj1471 said:

tiggerbodhi said:

Hi, Fit CCTV for a living, in domestic installs the ICO and GDPR do not come into it,

Erm, the ICO don't agree with you:

if your system captures images of people outside the boundary of your private domestic property – for example, in neighbours’ homes or gardens...Then the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) will apply to you, and you will need to ensure your use of CCTV complies with these laws.

https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

Should have made it clearer, you do not have to register the system with them or pay the fee, the guidance on the site is spot on, but as the OP found out the ICO are not really interested in domestic CCTV for enforcement. 

Phil4432

From what I can gather on the ICO website, it would seem that if people in their private garden or passer bys are being recorded, that wouldn't be illegal, but would make the owner of the security system a data controller.

They then would have to provide a copy of people's data upon request, and I think register as a data controller also.  If they didn't, theoretically there could be a fine.

A report to the ICO would be carried out anonymously.

Audio recordings is something to consider also, not sure what the law is on that. The ICO website seems to indicate that it shouldn't be done, but doesn't state if it's illegal.

I just make sure my cameras aren't pointing over someone's fence, in any way.  Basic courtesy.  Not sure why 'profesional companies,' can't simply do the same.

fenwick458

the part about the neighbour not being able to edit the privacy mask is probably a lie, I'm sure they could just remove it whenever they like

WeAreGhosts

I have a CCTV system and added my own privacy mask when I realised a camera pointed at a neighbour's side window (albeit from quite a distance). Mine was installed by a company, but I'm still able to edit the privacy masks myself.
The police have seen our CCTV a few times due to incidents and they have no issue with it. I think if it's used sensibly then it's not a problem.

Ant555

WeAreGhosts said:

The police have seen our CCTV a few times due to incidents and they have no issue with it. I think if it's used sensibly then it's not a problem.

Just out of interest, did the police view your CCTV to see if it could assist in solving a crime that happened nearby or was it due to neighbours complaining about the installation?

WeAreGhosts

Ant555 said:

WeAreGhosts said:

The police have seen our CCTV a few times due to incidents and they have no issue with it. I think if it's used sensibly then it's not a problem.

Just out of interest, did the police view your CCTV to see if it could assist in solving a crime that happened nearby or was it due to neighbours complaining about the installation?

Due to a crime. But while the police were in the house we asked about placement and they said the cameras were fine. They encouraged us to add another camera pointing at our fence to capture neighbour harassment, even said to get sound with it, but it's not possible on our system. I think if they know the cameras are being used for the right reasons then they're ok with them. 

Spank

I'm surprised the installing company told you what the cameras can and cannot see, I would have thought it was a GPDR breach?

Phil4432

I've had police ask me for any CCTV footage of the street, with regards to a local incident.  That led me to believe that footage of the pavement just in front of my drive, wasn't a problem.

However, I've made recent enquiries to the ICO about my own system after what my friend has experienced.

Recording people outside of your home isn't illegal as such, but it can get complicated.  https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

It's not illegal, so the police don't need to tell you to stop recording, unless someone is feeling harassed.  Looking through the ICO page though, it's not worth it.  No one should be recording people in their private property anyway.