Friend filmed a group of lads in his garden trying to break into his garage, Called police who viewed the footage and said they had a good idea who was this gang was. However friend told that because he didn't have a sign/notice in his garden saying that there was CCTV there the footage can't be used as evidence against the lads if it got to court.
Yeah it's under the Data Protection Act - has a few stipulations of which clear signage is one of them showing it's in operation. Wasn't too sure whether it was just for public areas/business etc or included personal properties, but apparently it does then...
You need a sign so the robbers can make sure to cover their faces and avoid the cameras where possible.
Surprised at that, as I seemed to think police could request cctv footage if a crime was committed within an area.
Not sure about phone footage or dashcam footage. Don't know what the position is with speed cameras - Driving from Hoylandswaine to Sheffield there are number of permanent road signs warning that 'Speed Cameras are in Operation' but have never seen speed cameras there (to date!)
The police were very keen to access the footage and in this instance could identify the lads. But they would need additional proof to secure a conviction. In this instance the footage showed 2 people walking past the garden - if they could be identified and traced they could possibly in turn identify the bad lads.
