legalities of cameras

smart

New member
Nov 28, 2019
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HI everyone
i am wondering if anyone knows is installing covert cameras in relatives houses is legal,i wish to install one over a sideboard where my relative keeps her purse ,recently money has been lost/stolen and we are at a point where it could possibly be the carers , should we speak to the police first !!!
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
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South coast
I belive you just have to put up a notice where it can be seen saying that CCTV camaras are used in the property.

BTW, are you certain that the money has been stolen? My mum was constantly telling me that money was being stolen from her, but when I sold her house I found hundreds of pounds stashed in hiding places around the house
 

Bunpoots

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Apr 1, 2016
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Nottinghamshire
As @canary says I think you just have to put up a notice saying CCTV is operating. You could tell the carers it’s there so you can see if your relative is in difficulties (e.g trips and falls) while they’re alone.

My dad also used to say money was being stolen when it wasn’t...although we suspect he was giving it away to all and sundry.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
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Bury
You could tell the carers that you think the relative has been hiding money and you will be installing camera to check where they are hiding it and you hope they don't mind.
 

smart

New member
Nov 28, 2019
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I belive you just have to put up a notice where it can be seen saying that CCTV camaras are used in the property.

BTW, are you certain that the money has been stolen? My mum was constantly telling me that money was being stolen from her, but when I sold her house I found hundreds of pounds stashed in hiding places around the house

thanks for the reply, we are 100 per cent sure but we have searched the house from top to bottom she has money in her purse one day then the next its gone
 

Sarasa

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Apr 13, 2018
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If she still goes out she may be spending it on odd things. Before she went into care mum was taking out £50.00 more or less every other day. When I cleared her flat I thought I’d find it but I didn’t. I did find jar after jar of expensive face cream though. If she doesn’t go out, does she need money?
 

canary

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Feb 25, 2014
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South coast
we have searched the house from top to bottom she has money in her purse one day then the next its gone
Well a camera may stop a regular thief, and if it is your mum removing the money herself it will show up on the camera. Just make sure that it is well hidden and cover up any lights as otherwise your mum might switch off/unplug/remove the camera.
 

nitram

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Apr 6, 2011
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Bury
she has money in her purse one day then the next its gone

Don't know how far relative's dementia has progressed or whether they actually spend the money.
Depending on answers consider putting some realistic fake 'toytown' money in the purse and see what happens.
 

smart

New member
Nov 28, 2019
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If she still goes out she may be spending it on odd things. Before she went into care mum was taking out £50.00 more or less every other day. When I cleared her flat I thought I’d find it but I didn’t. I did find jar after jar of expensive face cream though. If she doesn’t go out, does she need money?

hi thanks for replying she has a bit of a hangup that she needs money in her purse so we oblige, we cant seem to find any stashed away or see anything she may have bought so curiosity has lead us to is it being taken, i have found on amazon a smoke alarm that is actually a camera and am thinking of installing one where the purse is kept then play back footage to see if it gives us a clue
 

smart

New member
Nov 28, 2019
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Don't know how far relative's dementia has progressed or whether they actually spend the money.
Depending on answers consider putting some realistic fake 'toytown' money in the purse and see what happens.

it may well come to that later but in mean time it is worrying where the money is going
 

smart

New member
Nov 28, 2019
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Well a camera may stop a regular thief, and if it is your mum removing the money herself it will show up on the camera. Just make sure that it is well hidden and cover up any lights as otherwise your mum might switch off/unplug/remove the camera.

the one ive found is a smoke alarm thats fitted to the ceiling but really its a camera so looks like that one i think
 

rainbowcat

Registered User
Oct 14, 2015
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I am sure (but don't take this as definite!) that I read here that if it's within a person's own home (and this includes their own room in a care home) that you don't need to tell anyone or warn about CCTV. It's only when/if the camera is viewing a communal area (corridors, street, etc) that you need to put up CCTV warning notices.

I checked this specifically as we used a camera - albeit a very obvious one - in my dad's flat, and I ended up NOT putting up cctv notices as the law meant there was no need (I did warn his carers and regular visitors just out of courtesy).
 

Promogirl

New member
Dec 7, 2019
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HI everyone
i am wondering if anyone knows is installing covert cameras in relatives houses is legal,i wish to install one over a sideboard where my relative keeps her purse ,recently money has been lost/stolen and we are at a point where it could possibly be the carers , should we speak to the police first !!!
 

marionq

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
6,449
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Scotland
I had a visit from a cousin on Friday who stunned me by telling that an uncle who has recently been admitted to a care home had £80000 hidden around his home. He was in an accident twenty years ago which left him with some brain damage so hasn’t worked since but this amount of loose cash and notes built up from pensions and benefits. The desire to hide seems to go along with brain problems.
 

silver'lantern

Registered User
Apr 23, 2019
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My PwD is a hoarder so i dread to think whats in his room! but dont think it will be cash...its mostly rubbish.
 

Chrissie B

Registered User
Jan 15, 2019
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North Yorkshire
I get where you are coming from. When I used an agency money sometimes did go missing from my mother's purse.
Some carers told me my mother gave them money and that she was very upset if they tried to refuse it. They were the people who would hand it back.
Like your mother, my mother took a lot of security from having cash, but she did have a habit of giving all her money in her purse to other members of her daycare.
The regular carer quite often fished out banknotes from the toilet.
You are perfectly in your rights to install cameras in the house as long as you are using them as a security device to watch over your relative if you suspect she may be in danger of falling over and hurting herself.
If you go to the police to say you want to install a camera to spy on her carer however, that would be illegal. If you caught a carer stealing money you wouldn't be able to use the camera as evidence.
There is also the added problem that I suspect the house isn't yours, so you should either be registered as a carer or have POA
 

Sirena

Registered User
Feb 27, 2018
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If you install a camera by the drawer where the purse is kept, I think you will have to be careful how you interpret what you see. If a carer takes the purse/money, she may be doing so at the request of your relative. And if your relative removes the money, it may not show what then happens to it as she is likely to move out of view of the camera.
 

Chrissie B

Registered User
Jan 15, 2019
97
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North Yorkshire
If you take the route of printing money, don't forget that you need to write in big letters Specimen on both sides of the notes, and the notes have to be a different size to real ones. If your relative is likely to use the notes for shopping, then don't do it at all.