Camera in a toilet that the public use ?
Discussion
Ok, a bit of a weird one I admit, long story short, a cctv type camera has been fitted in a toilet at work, it is the real deal,(not a dummy one) however it has not been wired up.
Anybody using the toilet will not know this as the wires go out of the window and the window has been screwed shut.
It has been put there as a joke, a very bad one in my eyes and I have since ripped it off the window frame, it was only once I had done this that I could see it was not wired up.
Do any of the legal bods on here know if any sort of crime has been committed ?
Customers that visit the business do get use of the toilet, both male and female, we only have one toilet .
Anybody using the toilet will not know this as the wires go out of the window and the window has been screwed shut.
It has been put there as a joke, a very bad one in my eyes and I have since ripped it off the window frame, it was only once I had done this that I could see it was not wired up.
Do any of the legal bods on here know if any sort of crime has been committed ?
Customers that visit the business do get use of the toilet, both male and female, we only have one toilet .
Does the toilet have a cubicle around it?
If so, was the camera in a position where it would be looking inside the cubicle or outside?
If it was in a position to look inside the cubicle and not recording, no laws broken but not the best idea.
If in a position so it looks like it's recording outside the cubicle, no harm done at all. We have them in my work and they are on the roof. They could potentially be looking over the top of cubicles but when checking with security they only cover the sinks / handw asher area.
It sounds like you might have been in the wrong though when you said you "ripped it off"
If so, was the camera in a position where it would be looking inside the cubicle or outside?
If it was in a position to look inside the cubicle and not recording, no laws broken but not the best idea.
If in a position so it looks like it's recording outside the cubicle, no harm done at all. We have them in my work and they are on the roof. They could potentially be looking over the top of cubicles but when checking with security they only cover the sinks / handw asher area.
It sounds like you might have been in the wrong though when you said you "ripped it off"
Ok, some more info for you, the camera was positioned on a velux window frame, it was a swivel type affair and was pointing at the toilet itself, so if you were sitting on the loo you would look directly at the camera.
This loo is just in a very small room with a hand basin in it. nothing else, no cubicle for privacy, you go in, lock the door and do your business.
As for damaging the camera and window frame, yes it is damaged, that is not an issue at all and their will be no reprisals to me at all. Take that as gospel.
The business is a body repair shop with a forecourt and showroom, run as two separate businesses, I run the workshops ( body repairs ) but my customers can use the loo anytime as it is the only loo on the premises.
The idiot who put the camera there runs the car sales side of it (He is a tenant)
A few times I have been up to use the loo myself I have seen toilet paper hung over the camera lens, so some people naturally thought it was wired up.
I really only wanted to know if any sort of offence had been committed ?
This loo is just in a very small room with a hand basin in it. nothing else, no cubicle for privacy, you go in, lock the door and do your business.
As for damaging the camera and window frame, yes it is damaged, that is not an issue at all and their will be no reprisals to me at all. Take that as gospel.
The business is a body repair shop with a forecourt and showroom, run as two separate businesses, I run the workshops ( body repairs ) but my customers can use the loo anytime as it is the only loo on the premises.
The idiot who put the camera there runs the car sales side of it (He is a tenant)
A few times I have been up to use the loo myself I have seen toilet paper hung over the camera lens, so some people naturally thought it was wired up.
I really only wanted to know if any sort of offence had been committed ?
jeff666 said:
Ok, some more info for you, the camera was positioned on a velux window frame, it was a swivel type affair and was pointing at the toilet itself, so if you were sitting on the loo you would look directly at the camera.
This loo is just in a very small room with a hand basin in it. nothing else, no cubicle for privacy, you go in, lock the door and do your business.
As for damaging the camera and window frame, yes it is damaged, that is not an issue at all and their will be no reprisals to me at all. Take that as gospel.
The business is a body repair shop with a forecourt and showroom, run as two separate businesses, I run the workshops ( body repairs ) but my customers can use the loo anytime as it is the only loo on the premises.
The idiot who put the camera there runs the car sales side of it (He is a tenant)
A few times I have been up to use the loo myself I have seen toilet paper hung over the camera lens, so some people naturally thought it was wired up.
I really only wanted to know if any sort of offence had been committed ?
He isn't a small Malaysian man is he? This loo is just in a very small room with a hand basin in it. nothing else, no cubicle for privacy, you go in, lock the door and do your business.
As for damaging the camera and window frame, yes it is damaged, that is not an issue at all and their will be no reprisals to me at all. Take that as gospel.
The business is a body repair shop with a forecourt and showroom, run as two separate businesses, I run the workshops ( body repairs ) but my customers can use the loo anytime as it is the only loo on the premises.
The idiot who put the camera there runs the car sales side of it (He is a tenant)
A few times I have been up to use the loo myself I have seen toilet paper hung over the camera lens, so some people naturally thought it was wired up.
I really only wanted to know if any sort of offence had been committed ?
The most obvious offence which might be committed by putting a camera in a toilet would be voyeurism, but that is unlikely to apply here because (a) he'd have to actually use the camera to observe someone using the toilet, or at least intend to do so (difficult if it's not wired up) and (b) it is only an offence if it's done for the purposes of sexual gratification - not if it was done as an ill-conceived joke. Not every bad joke in poor taste is a crime.
rpguk said:
If it wasn't wired up I can't see what criminal offence was committed.
Did you ask the bloke what on earth he was playing at?
Things got very heated hence me taking action, it was put there as a joke apparently, I saw it when I got back from holiday.Did you ask the bloke what on earth he was playing at?
As for no criminal offence being committed just because it was not wired up can I ask if you are a legal type bod ?
Aretnap said:
The most obvious offence which might be committed by putting a camera in a toilet would be voyeurism, but that is unlikely to apply here because (a) he'd have to actually use the camera to observe someone using the toilet, or at least intend to do so (difficult if it's not wired up) and (b) it is only an offence if it's done for the purposes of sexual gratification - not if it was done as an ill-conceived joke. Not every bad joke in poor taste is a crime.
Thanks for the reply, it seems that I may have to let this one slide, thanks for all the contributions.Corpulent Tosser said:
You ripped the camera off the window frame !
Presumably there was some damage to the camera mounting and the window frame, is this likely to get you on bother at work ?
Wouldn't it have been better to question the siting of the camera with a manager or HR ?
He may have had the head of the turtle which necessitated immediate action.Presumably there was some damage to the camera mounting and the window frame, is this likely to get you on bother at work ?
Wouldn't it have been better to question the siting of the camera with a manager or HR ?
Poo first, ask HR later is my motto.
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff