Many businesses operate CCTV, some wholly inside their own premises and some outside.
However, if you operate CCTV, in the eyes of the law you are collecting personal data and that means you need to comply with the Data Protection Act, or from May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This is because images of people captured by CCTV are personal data.

Your Obligations

As part of your obligations under the legislation, you must tell people that you are taking their personal data. The most effective way of doing this is by using prominently placed signs at the entrance to the area covered by CCTV and reinforcing this with further signs inside the area.

Clear and prominent signs are particularly important where the cameras themselves are very discreet, or in locations where people might not expect to be under surveillance. As a general rule, signs should be more prominent and frequent where it would otherwise be less obvious to people that they are on CCTV.

Clear and Visible Signage is Essential

Signs should be clearly visible and readable, contains details of the organisation operating the system, the purpose for using CCTV and who to contact about the scheme. You may not have to include all of those details where it is obvious to those being monitored, such as CCTV wholly within a workplace. If CCTV is installed within a shop, for example, it will be obvious that the shop is responsible, so you won’t need to include that on the signs.

Signs should be an appropriate size depending on context, so you’d expect signs to be bigger if they need to be viewed by car drivers or from a distance.

Apart from good signing, all staff should know what to do or who to contact if a member of the public makes an enquiry about the CCTV system. Systems in public spaces should have signs giving the name and contact details of the company, organisation or authority responsible.  Business owners should take care with this, because often cameras sited on premises might still capture the images of people walking by.

There is plenty of help available from the Information Commissioners Office on how to run a CCTV system lawfully, but it is often the issue of correct signing where businesses fall short.

The best way to ensure you are compliant is to talk to our team of dedicated account managers who can offer advice on the right signs for you.

Contact them today on 01737 774077.