cctv

lor1975

i may be posting this thread in the wrong place but anyway..
my neighbour has four dome like cctv cameras on the corners of her bungalow. theres a fence dividing our houses and about 15-20 feet between us. problem is i've a feeling her camera covers more than her own property and im getting a tad annoyed over it. one is facing right into my conservatory. she is not the kind of person u would approach about it, she wouldnt tell the truth so it's pointless asking. how would one go about figuring this out or would i need to contact guards?

keefg

This is the right forum if you just want to have a rant about your neighbour

However, we aren't too good at giving advice on such matters so I shall find a new home for your post.

lor1975

thanks keefg, u might let me know where u put it

keefg

Moved from R&R.

I guess this is the best place for the OP to get advice on a problem with their neighbour.

Darksaga87

Id go down and have a conversation with a guard. See what they have to say.

Paulw

I can't actually see any law being broken here, that I know of. What do you want the Gardai to do? The Gardai would have no right to see what her CCTV covers, without a warrant, and that would be hard to get, given that there are no real grounds here to say that any offence is taking place.

Your neighbour has a right to have CCTV covering her home, even if some of the scene from a camera can cover some of your property.

Maybe you're just being paranoid?

lor1975

there is actually a law against having a cctv point into someone else's property. what iam looking for here is to see how i can find out, not the likes of you calling me paranoid. thanks again mr helpful

Paulw

lor1975 wrote: »

there is actually a law against having a cctv point into someone else's property. what iam looking for here is to see how i can find out, not the likes of you calling me paranoid. thanks again mr helpful

What law are you talking about? Do you have a link to such legislation? I'd like to read it, for my own understanding and knowledge.

The likelyhood is that the CCTV does not specifically point in to your property, but may be able to view part of your property, with the main focus of the camera being on her property. In that situation, they are well within their rights to have the CCTV.

Again, you have no direct right to see what their CCTV cameras see, nor will the Gardai.

The best way to approach this would be to talk to your neighbour, but from your statements, that doesn't seem to be an avenue you think would do any good.

Bottom line is that you don't know what the CCTV camera can see, and you have no way of really knowing.

Trojan911

lor1975 wrote: »

how would one go about figuring this out or would i need to contact guards?

This link doesn't have the answer you are looking for, however, try ringing the number (1890 777 121) to the right of the page to see if that can answer your question or try searching the website further.

In a nutshell I am not sure of the answer. If there are four domes, as you say in your OP, then that would suggest to me that they were professionaly put in by a security firm who would be aware of any privacy i.e. pointing into your property etc.

wrote:

The likelyhood is that the CCTV does not specifically point in to your property, but may be able to view part of your property, with the main focus of the camera being on her property. In that situation, they are well within their rights to have the CCTV.

Have to agree with PaulW there as that is probably how they were fixed.

Hope you get your answer....

major bill

question il ask is why is one of the cameras pointed in the direction of your conservatory? is she picking up a side entrance to your home or what? there is technology on alot of dvr's(digital video recorders) that can blank out your property from view maybe talk to her about it, if you feel your privacy is been invaded then go to her first before ringing the autoritys.

Tester46

Possibly an obscure approach, but if you could be identified from the recordings, you might be able to ask the Data Protection Commissioner for advice.

pirelli

Tester46 wrote: »

Possibly an obscure approach, but if you could be identified from the recordings, you might be able to ask the Data Protection Commissioner for advice.

This a good approach. You can use the data protection act to ensure your neighbour deletes footage of your property every 28 days. You can also make a request for any data they have of your person.

If they don't comply you can apply to the data commissioner. It would be less hassle for them if they were to marginalize the recording to the perimeters of their property only.

Little Acorn

Paulw wrote: »

What law are you talking about? Do you have a link to such legislation? I'd like to read it, for my own understanding and knowledge.

The likelyhood is that the CCTV does not specifically point in to your property, but may be able to view part of your property, with the main focus of the camera being on her property. In that situation, they are well within their rights to have the CCTV.

Again, you have no direct right to see what their CCTV cameras see, nor will the Gardai.

The best way to approach this would be to talk to your neighbour, but from your statements, that doesn't seem to be an avenue you think would do any good.

Bottom line is that you don't know what the CCTV camera can see, and you have no way of really knowing.

QUOTE:

Domestic use of CCTV systems.

The processing of personal data kept by an individual and concerned solely with the management of his/her personal, family or household affairs or kept by an individual for recreational purposes is exempt from the provisions of the Acts. This exemption would generally apply to the use of CCTVs in a domestic environment. However, the exemption may not apply if the occupant works from home. [ Where the exemption does apply, a person who objects to the use of a CCTV system – for example, a neighbour who objects to images of her/his property being recorded – may be able to take a civil legal action based on the Constitutional and Common Law right to privacy.]

END QUOTE.


I got this information from Dataprotection.ie.

It is under the heading Data Protection Commisioner.

If you google "are cctv cameras legal private property"
exactly like that,you'll find the page I'm on about.(blue and white page,first on google list)

For some reason if you type ON private property the page is wrong.

There's loads of information there about cctv on business premises and people's homes. Hope it helps.:)

lor1975

thanks for yer help

Thunderbird2

id get a load of IR lights and stick em on the conservatory pointing towards her house!! hahahaha.. if she can see into your conservatory why not put up some trelis on the fencing and grow flowers up it;)

mickmcl09

Sorry to be dragging up an old thread rather than creating a new one, but I have a relative in a similar situation to the OP. Why doesn't the Data Protection Act apply similarly to private residential owners in the same way that it applys to businesses.:mad:
Business' are not allowed to have their CCTV covering an area (not so much as a blade of grass) external to the boundary of their property or indeed external to their carpark if they have one - this includes public roadsides, footpaths or premises belonging to other business' or even neighbouring domestic property.

IN a private residential holders case the above does not apply

In this case, the neighbour has a camera covering the public avenue which leads to my relatives house. Note my relatives are the only people using the avenue, it's a cul de sac. Having rang the Data Commissioners Office today it seems that a private residential holder can cover any area they want, the Data Commissioner is powerless to investigate unless the neighbour shows CCTV footage to a third party with either you or your property in the footage and you will have to provide proof that the neighbour has done so before the commissioner will investigate - so, basically the neighbour can observe my relatives comings and goings for his own pleasure, but equally annoying is that he could show footage to anybody he pleases / trusts and he will have no issue with the authorities as long as the footage stays out of a public domain or as long as a third party who views the footage says nothing about having seen same.

The neighbour made certain allegations to gardai recently regarding my relatives and a garda has mentioned to my relative that he knows they 'were looking into the neighbours property from the avenue'. The relative didn't think anything of it at the time, as the allegations are laughable to be honest, and they've nothing to be concerned about, but having rehashed it all today, they made the simple enquiry to the Commissioners Office regarding the use of CCTV by a domestic residential holder.

The relatives have either a nosy or a paranoid neghbour, but there's very little the Data Commissioner can do unless they can prove that footage has been shown to a 3rd party.

Very annoying situation for the OP.

chops018

Paulw wrote: »

What law are you talking about? Do you have a link to such legislation? I'd like to read it, for my own understanding and knowledge.

The likelyhood is that the CCTV does not specifically point in to your property, but may be able to view part of your property, with the main focus of the camera being on her property. In that situation, they are well within their rights to have the CCTV.

Again, you have no direct right to see what their CCTV cameras see, nor will the Gardai.

The best way to approach this would be to talk to your neighbour, but from your statements, that doesn't seem to be an avenue you think would do any good.

Bottom line is that you don't know what the CCTV camera can see, and you have no way of really knowing.

Article 8 of the ECHR guarantees the right to privacy, and this became effective in Irish legislation by the ECHR Act 2003. The person has no right to cover her CCTV footage into another persons private property. The person has a right to keep surveillance on her own property but not on the other persons.

But as you say, more than likely they were not set up to spy on their neighbour and a simple chat saying that you are worried that they might be recording some of your property which you don't want them to do and ask them is it etc. and it should resolve the problem.

p.s. here is an example of a business that had cctv pointed at a persons home resolving the problem, should be a similar solution for you http://www.dataprotection.ie/viewprint.asp?DocID=327&StartDate=1+January+2007

barman linen

Am resurrecting this thread rather than start a new one. I know some of the legislation has been updated recently.

Here is my (hypothetical) scenario......let's say I was burgled for the second time this year and even though I had an alarm the guys were coming in anyhow. I need to install CCTV to act as a deterrent. I live in an end of terrace and need to cover the side entrance off a public road. There is no way to secure the side gate and garden as the houses on the back side are empty and I cannot secure them.

My camera will focus on the side of my property and will possibly take in a public road that neighbours drive on...approximately 25 houses live in the cul de sac and passing my house is the only way in and out.

I am expecting some neighbour to object but wonder what would the legal position be ?

The CCTV is being installled by a licensed alarm / security company.


Based on the above it would seem I can film the entire road ?

I would want to see any opportunist thieves passing by and looking over the wall ....

Any help appreciated....

Thunderbird2

Once you can't see their property it's fine .
If children play on the road/green area covered by the camera that might cause a dispute with neighbours . But if they know you they probably won't care .
If youre getting it professionaly installed the installer will be aware of what's aloud and what's not . My neighbour has cameras up and it could see the neighbours drive . They were delighted as It caught a women sneaking around the back .

yes chance

pirelli wrote: »

This a good approach. You can use the data protection act to ensure your neighbour deletes footage of your property every 28 days. You can also make a request for any data they have of your person.

If they don't comply you can apply to the data commissioner. It would be less hassle for them if they were to marginalize the recording to the perimeters of their property only.

does not apply to a private residence afaik

yes chance

Little Acorn wrote: »

QUOTE:

Domestic use of CCTV systems.

The processing of personal data kept by an individual and concerned solely with the management of his/her personal, family or household affairs or kept by an individual for recreational purposes is exempt from the provisions of the Acts. This exemption would generally apply to the use of CCTVs in a domestic environment. However, the exemption may not apply if the occupant works from home. [ Where the exemption does apply, a person who objects to the use of a CCTV system – for example, a neighbour who objects to images of her/his property being recorded – may be able to take a civil legal action based on the Constitutional and Common Law right to privacy.]

how would they know the cameras cover them?