A Home Office leaflet offers guidance to small business users of CCTV on how to get the most from CCTV. Visit https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/142684/cctv-small-business-guidance.pdf
What can CCTV do for you? If you install a poor system then the answer is probably “very little”, the start of the four-page leaflet admits, from Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST). You should have a very clear idea of what you want your system to do and how it should perform. This should be based on your own premises, its layout, and the specific problems you want to address. The mere visible presence of a CCTV camera is unlikely to assist your fight against crime in your business. It is the action that can be taken as a result of your system that is all important, whether that be at the time of an incident or afterwards. Performance has to be ‘designed in’ and cannot be taken for granted. CCTV needs to be of a high enough quality to ensure these elements actually work. It doesn‟t necessarily have to cost a fortune – it just needs to be well thought out.
Much like buying a new car or a television you have to make some important decisions before you buy to ensure that it actually meets your requirements and gives you a return on your investment.
Further guidance for users of CCTV will be available in the surveillance camera code of practice which, subject to the outcome of statutory consultation and the will of Parliament, will come into force in summer 2013. The code is intended to strike a balance between protecting the public and upholding civil liberties. This leaflet will be reissued after the code comes in.
