A 24-hour surveillance camera that was installed by a Saanich business next to the tent city in Regina Park may not meet legal privacy requirements outlined in B.C’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
The surveillance camera was installed by Victoria Drain Services on Regina Avenue on July 19, and looks onto the tent city known as Camp Namegans.
According to Scott Sheldrake of Bullet Security, they were contracted to install the surveillance camera in an area where the Victoria Drains employees park after a spike in break-ins and other problems.
“The area where the video camera is aimed at happens to also cover a portion of the new Saanich tent city—and Victoria Drain is allowing the public to access it via YouTube as a public service,” Sheldrake told Victoria Buzz on Monday.
A YouTube stream of the camera footage has been live since July 20.
PIPA guidelines state prior consent must be obtained
Any organization in B.C. that collects, uses, and discloses personal information falls under the rules outlined in PIPA.
Contrary to popular belief, individuals do not lose their right to privacy when they are in a public space, such as a park. PIPA does not apply to individuals acting in their domestic capacity, such as when somebody records video of someone else on their cell phone and keeps the video for personal use.
Under PIPA, organizations generally need to get consent before collecting someone’s personal information, which includes an individual’s image gathered from video surveillance. This true whether or not the information is obtained in a public space.
In addition to consent, individuals must be notified that their image is being is collected prior to or at the time of collection. (Most businesses will do this with a sign telling customers upon entry that they are being recorded.) An individual must also provide consent for their personal information to be disclosed publicly, such as on social media.
In short: a private business cannot film people without their consent, and cannot disclose that information to a third party.
Victoria Buzz has reached out to Victoria Drain Services to ask if they informed any residents of the camp about the surveillance camera prior to having it installed, but did not hear back in time for publication. We’ll update when we do.
A post on the Camp Namegans Facebook page dated July 23 suggests that residents did not know about the camera until Monday, days after it was put in place.
“Homeless people have enough surveillance in their lives being forced to live in the public eye! The camp will be contacting them to ask them to remove the live feed, but you can help by calling or emailing them to do the same,” the post said.
In the case where a business determines video surveillance to be necessary and meets the requirements under PIPA, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC states that businesses should limit the time their surveillance is active.
According to the Office’s guidelines on overt video surveillance, that means only turning on cameras at certain times, rather than 24 hours a day.
“For instance, if you operate a retail store and have experienced break-ins after hours, only use your cameras when the store is closed so that you are not capturing images of employees and customers during business hours,” the guidelines state.
Furthermore, the guidelines warn that cameras may capture images of people who are not the intended subjects, which is not authorized under PIPA.
To ensure surveillance is lawful, the office advises cameras should only capture the least amount of information that is needed, and that it should avoid areas where people have a “heightened expectation of privacy, such as change rooms, washrooms, or into windows.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the camera is predominantly focused on the tent city, including two portable washrooms and a public walking path.
Saanich police say “nothing criminal” about surveillance on private property
When asked for comment on Tuesday whether the installed camera is legal, or if campers have any recourse should they want it removed, Saanich police said there is “nothing criminal” about a business installing a surveillance camera on private property.
They then directed Victoria Buzz to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC. Victoria Buzz contacted the Office, which provided the guidelines included in this article, but declined to comment on the specific case of Victoria Drain Services.
Victoria Buzz followed up with Saanich police, specifically asking for comment on the Office’s guidelines around 24-hour surveillance, obtaining prior consent, and avoiding filming areas with an expectation of privacy.
Saanich police would not comment on those guidelines.
When asked if Bullet Security has any policies in place to ensure customers follow PIPA guidelines when setting up surveillance, Sheldrake told Victoria Buzz on Tuesday that they “leave that up to the customer.”
