Surveillance privacy notice

This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s Privacy Policy.

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when Colchester City Council collects personal information about you, in this case, static or moving imagery via CCTV or surveillance systems. The Council is committed to protecting your personal information, safety and security as you access services and visit public buildings across the city. We are legally obliged to use your information in line with all applicable laws concerning the protection of personal data, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

What information will we collect about you?

Colchester City Council may collect static or moving imagery via CCTV or surveillance systems. The Council collects imagery via CCTV cameras and surveillance devices located on public buildings as well as via body worn cameras and dash cams. These include:

Town centre CCTV

Monitoring CCTV Cameras around the town centre and surrounding areas, with the main aims being to provide evidence to relevant enforcement agencies such as the Police to maintain public order, prevent antisocial behaviour and nuisance and to provide reassurance to the public.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Essex Police
• Royal Military Police
• Colchester City Council Environmental Health

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. Colchester City Council use CCTV to monitor for safety and security of members of the public visiting and accessing Colchester Town Centre. This is supported by Essex Police for the detection and prevention of crime and disorder.

Length of time we keep your information

Data is overwritten every 28 days.

Leisure World Colchester and Aqua Springs

Video images of members of the public and staff in and around Leisure World Sites and Aqua Springs including car parks and bike sheds.

Video images of members of the public and staff in all the Swimming Pool halls and underwater in the Fitness Pool at Leisure World Colchester (this does not include designated changing areas).

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Essex Police
• Insurance companies

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. Colchester City Council use CCTV to monitor security of premises and outside areas, any misuse of facilities or acts of an illicit nature and to monitor pool safety.

Length of time we keep your information

Reception – 21 Days
Main Office – 23 days
Aqua Springs – 30 days
Colchester Sports Park – 31 days
Swimming Pool halls and underwater in Fitness Pool – 30 days

Crematorium CCTV and funeral webcasts

Video images of visitors and staff inside and outside the premises. In addition to the CCTV, funeral services are recorded.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Essex Police (on request)

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. Colchester City Council use CCTV to monitor security of premises and outside areas and to monitor any misuse of facilities or acts of an illicit nature.

Length of time we keep your information

Data is overwritten every 28 days.

Waste vehicle cameras

Mobile video footage. Cameras located on refuse vehicles.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Insurance company (on request)
• Police (on request)

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. Colchester City Council uses CCTV to protect Council property and its employees.

Length of time we keep your information

Data is overwritten every 30 days.

Mobile CCTV for littering, fly-tipping or dog fouling

Mobile video footage. Cameras are positioned in ‘hot spots’ for these offences and will be accompanied by appropriate signage.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Environment Agency (on request)
• Police (on request)
• Colchester Borough Homes (for enforcement)

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. Colchester City Council uses CCTV to protect the environment and wildlife and to use as evidence for enforcement purposes.

Length of time we keep your information

Data required for evidential purposes will be retained for the duration of the case.  Non-evidential footage will be wiped every 30 days.

Park rangers and neighbourhood wardens body worn cameras

Body worn CCTV will only be used in the event that an officer finds themselves in a confrontational situation where they are subject to or feel that they are likely to be subject to, verbal or physical abuse. Whenever practicable at the commencement of any recording staff will give a clear verbal instruction that recording video and audio is taking place. 

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Any relevant data is shared with external agencies such as the Police for the purposes of criminal prosecutions.

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is public task. The purpose is to protect Council employees and/or capture evidence that may be used in prosecutions of a criminal offence.

Length of time we keep your information

All details are saved in the system asset log, with user details, date and location of the incident. All data is deleted every 28 days unless required for evidential purposes relating to an outstanding case.

North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) CCTV

The NEPP operates static and mobile CCTV cameras under the branding 'Park Safe' and 'Park Safe Schools'. These cameras are used to monitor parking restrictions and capture static and moving imagery of vehicles that are believed to be parked illegally in contravention. Any static and moving imagery captured is encrypted, reviewed, and transferred to a notice processing system, where it is used to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to the registered keepers of the contravening vehicles.

The NEPP ParkSafe vehicle operates an approved device. The device creates a series of frames of images triggered by something being in a virtual enforcement zone; the frames are then assembled into moving pictures.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

These are transferred in an encrypted format to a Review Station and transferred to a case management system if there is reason to believe there is a contravention occurring.

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is legal obligation. The North Essex Parking Partnership requires the above images in order to enforce Penalty Charge Notices in regards to parking contraventions. We only request the minimum amount of information and ensure that is it stored securely within our preferred IT Parking and Traffic Management software and cashless parking solution.

Length of time we keep your information

In relation to DVLA obtained details, we retain these for 3 years and our enforcement agent companies then retain the details for up to 6 years.

For CCTV footage, upon review of the encrypted imagery and where we believe the vehicle is parked illegally in contravention, static and moving imagery of vehicles is retained in our IT Parking and Traffic Management software for 3 years. Where we believe the vehicle is not parked in contravention upon review, the information is securely stored for 21 days before being deleted.

North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) body worn cameras and dash cams

North Essex Parking Partnership make use of dash cams in their company vehicles when being used within Colchester and other districts and body worn cameras worn by Civil Enforcement Officers working with the public.

The cameras are being used as part of Personal Protective Equipment under Colchester City Council's Health & Safety policy for Parking Enforcement.

Agencies and other parties we may share your information with

• Police (on request)
• Insurance companies

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is legal obligation. The North Essex Parking Partnership requires the above images in order to reduce instances of physical threat and abuse when CEO’s are carrying out their job. The footage will also support any prosecutions that may take place following instances of abuse.

Length of time we keep your information

All images not deemed necessary or not required by the police for possible prosecution will be automatically overwritten by the system after 30 days and deleted as per the software settings. Any data retained will only be kept until all investigations have been completed or prosecution has taken place.

How we protect and store your personal data

We take the confidentiality of personal information very seriously and use recognised security and access controls to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have procedures and processes in place to ensure that your personal information is managed appropriately.

Updates to this privacy notice

We will continually review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our processes and procedures, as well as to comply with changes in the law. When such changes occur, we will revise the "last reviewed" date at the bottom of this notice. We encourage you to periodically review this notice and to be informed of how we protecting your information.