Why All Retailers Should Invest In CCTV

At your business premises, an active CCTV system is one of the best security features you can have.

CCTV has been commercially available since 1949, but due to the expense and technology limitations of the time, it did not become widely used until the 1980s.

Today though, CCTV is an affordable and accessible security solution used by all types of businesses and private properties. Here, we will explain why all retailers should be using CCTV, and outline the legal requirements for using a CCTV system on your premises.

The Legal Considerations

If your business uses CCTV on its premises, there are some legal requirements you should be aware of.

For instance, businesses who use CCTV on their commercial premises must:

• Register as a CCTV operator with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), disclosing the reason for your system.

• Make staff aware of their responsibilities and procedures concerning the CCTV system

• Conduct and publish a Privacy Impact Assessment, and make a member of your team the designated point of contact for questions or complaints about the CCTV system

• Limit access to CCTV for staff and put a disclosure policy in place

• Make all customers aware that they are being recorded. You can do this by mounting signs that state CCTV is being used and explain the reasons why

• Only keep CCTV footage as long as necessary, and destroy it when no longer required

• Store footage securely and privately and keep it for no longer than 31 days

• Be able to disclose footage in under 40 days when requested - although businesses are allowed to bill up to £10 for the release of CCTV images to the public

• Comply with releasing CCTV footage to the authorities (without charge)

• Abide by official technical and operational standards and guidelines

•Respect the human right to privacy by not recording private conversations between members of the public, and by not placing CCTV in inappropriate settings, such as changing cubicles or toilets

• Keep the date and time records accurate, in case the CCTV footage is needed for use in legal proceedings

• Undertake regular CCTV auditing according to official policies and legal requirements. When complete, these findings should then be published for review

• Accurately update reference databases

Additionally, businesses may only use CCTV for the disclosed purposes.

For example, if you have a system installed to prevent theft, you may not use it to check when employees are taking a break. This is to ensure the privacy of employees and to maintain trust.

Why Install CCTV?

CCTV systems are a flexible and effective way to ensure the security of your business. They help to deter and solve crime, monitor activity during business hours, and boost staff productivity and confidence in the workplace.

Additionally, here are just some of the other advantages of installing and maintaining a CCTV system on your company premises:

1. Prevent theft - CCTV is a highly effective crime deterrent. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 67% of commercial thefts could be prevented if a CCTV system was in place.

Furthermore, be aware that experienced thieves will be very capable of spotting a dummy CCTV system, so fitting the real thing is highly recommended.

2. Collect evidence of a crime - CCTV cameras capture evidence of most types of crime, including theft, vandalism, assault, sexual harassment, and more.

This enables the evidence to be easily passed to authorities, and allows employers to monitor and eliminate any illegal activities happening on their site.

3. Disprove false compensation claims - False compensation claims can cost your business a lot of money, and cause staff and owners high levels of stress.

But having a CCTV system in place can help you to eliminate false compensation claims and identify when a complainant has a legitimate case.

4. Protect staff and premises - CCTV helps to deter aggressive behaviour against personnel, so if your staff are being regularly abused - either by customers or colleagues - you can help to keep them safe by installing a CCTV system.

CCTV is also effective in preventing vandalism, meaning that business owners can use it to monitor and protect the security of their stock and other assets.

5. Make customers feel safer - Using CCTV helps to promote a sense of professionalism and makes your customers feel secure when at your premises. CCTV can also help to stop crime taking place against your customers, like for example, by pickpockets.

6. Reduce the cost of security - Using CCTV can reduce the number of security staff needed, helping to cut expenses.

7. Resolving disputes - Using evidence from CCTV cameras can help to solve issues between staff and customers - or between colleagues - by establishing the facts of what happened.

This is especially important when dealing with aggressive behaviour by customers or staff.

8. Analysing customer behaviour - Looking at CCTV footage gives you a great insight into how your customers behave.

It can help you to identify busy and quiet periods so that you can allocate staff and break times, and you can also observe which products and offers draw the most attention.

You can even identify the times when customers spend the most money, so that you can concentrate your sales efforts on those periods!

9. Access control - If you suspect that staff or customers are accessing areas which are off-limits, you can use CCTV to monitor who goes in and out.

Additionally, if you don’t have a camera system in place, you might not even realise when unauthorised personnel enter prohibited areas.

Setting Up A CCTV System For Your Business

CCTV is a cost-effective, powerful, and efficient way of deterring crime, managing your premises and workforce, and analysing customer behaviour.

If you would like to know more about our CCTV systems and how we can help your business benefit from them, call us on 01234 230690 or send an email to info@kcsprojects.co.uk