CCTV images and you

Information is provided below about your right to access CCTV images that may be held of you.

What is the Data Protection Act?

The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000. The Act sets guidelines for processing personal information and applies to some CCTV images as well as images held on computers.

The Data Protection Act works in two ways. It gives you certain rights. It also says the council must be open about how your personal information is used and must follow the rules of ‘good information handling’.

What are the CCTV cameras used for?

The objectives of Wolverhampton’s CCTV systems are:

To contribute to reduction of crime, fear of crime and community safety in support of the city's Crime Reduction, Community Safety and Drug Strategy.
To assist in overall management of town centres and public areas.
To assist with traffic management.
To enhance community safety, boost the economy and encourage greater use of the city centre and local shopping areas.
To assist the local authority and police in their regulatory functions within the city centre.

What are your rights?

The Data Protection Act allows you to find out what CCTV images the council holds of you. This is known as the ‘right of subject access’.

Your rights regarding access to the CCTV images the council may hold of you are:

To ask the council if it holds information about you.
To ask what the information is used for.
To be given a copy of the information.

How long are CCTV images kept?

CCTV images are only kept for 28 days. After this period the image will be destroyed.

How can I see the information held about me?

You need to complete the application form contained in the leaflet below:

Please provide as much detail as possible when filling in the form, including the date, time and location of when your image was captured, together with a description of what you were wearing and a photograph will enable us to locate the footage.

If you would like a particular incident searched for, please supply additional details.

The completed form should be returned to:

Data Protection Adviser

Finance and Physical Resources
Civic Centre
St Peter’s Square
Wolverhampton
WV1 1RL

Telephone: 01902 554498
Email: dataprotection@wolverhampton.gov.uk

What information will I receive?

You will receive a copy of the information that the council holds about you. This could take the form of a video tape or video still photographs.
There may be occasions that a copy of the tape cannot be supplied and if this is the case you will be told why and offered the future opportunity to view the tape at council premises.