These are the questions asked by an I4S reader who works for a non retail company running CCTV on its site.
Writes Dave: “I am a security officer. I now do static guarding for an industrial company. My question is this: As with retail, I know that we must possess a CCTV licence in order to use the various cameras. But now I work for a non retail company and use cameras also on this site.
“Do I need a licence to operate these cameras and, if yes, does this mean that other users that are non-security have the right to use them?
“The reason for my asking this question is because a member of the company, who is just a maintenance engineer for the site, keeps using these cameras.
“The company does have its own CCTV contractors who, from time to time, maintain the system. The company has just opened up a new site which is close to a public area and a new contract has taken place with a new security firm to run with the new company.
“What I need to know is do industrial firms need a licence to run their systems?”
We put Dave’s question to our resident “CCTV Doctor”, Jon Hill of Siemens Building Technologies Security Products.
Says ‘Doctor’ Jon : “There are numerous regulatory measures being put into place to control the installation and operation of CCTV systems – most of which will come into force this year.
“The SIA has produced a licensing arrangement for CCTV users, but if you read the detail you will see that the rules can be interpreted in many ways. See:
http://www.the-sia.org.uk/home/licensing/cctv/licence_who_cctv.htm
“As things stand I am not aware of any legislation (other than the data protection act and various privacy laws) which prevent people without security clearance from using a CCTV system, in spite of the guidelines provided by the SIA.
“It is my understanding that restrictive measures are applied on a case by case basis, and as deemed appropriate by either the local system administrator or the local council/authorities; and only in a situation where consumers (the general public) may have direct access to any recorded footage – which is very rare!
“Generally speaking, guidelines for best practice should be followed but are not currently a legal requirement.
“I would say that Dave’s issues are procedural and that any frustrations he currently has could perhaps be sorted out with the application of simple user management via PINS or passwords?
“The maintenance engineer will tend to need access to the system to ensure that any repairs or running maintenance has not had a detrimental effect on the overall system.
“Engineers should normally have a level of security clearance in order to work on site – particularly for retail applications – but again, this is not always the case and often difficult to enforce.
“There is a balance to be struck here between ensuring that the system is securely administered and ensuring the system is operationally sound. Both are of course desirable.”
So, would you agree with our Doctor’s advice? Do you have any comments on Dave’s situation?
To add your opinion, just click on the comment line below.
