Locker Room Placement of Security Cameras Acceptable as an Anti-Theft Tool

The Alberta Information & Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner) has released a decision that considers the countervailing interests of privacy and security in a public place – namely, a men's locker room in a sports centre. The Talisman Centre for Sport and Wellness in Calgary had been experiencing frequent locker break-ins and other criminal activity in the locker rooms, averaging over 200 incidents annually. In response, the Centre installed video cameras in the men's locker room. The cameras were focused on the lockers only, and could not scan around the room or pick up audio. Not being actively monitored, the cameras were accessed only in the event of a theft, and were viewed under the supervision of two senior staff members, or with a member of the police present. The cameras were extremely effective in deterring criminal activity, and during the several years since they had been installed, there were only 10 occasions on which the images had been viewed. If they were not viewed, the images were automatically overwritten in approximately 21 days' time. In a comprehensive 26-page Order, the Commissioner found that the Centre was collecting personal information, but that its purposes for doing so were reasonable, given all the circumstances. However, the Commissioner found that the Centre was giving inadequate notice of the surveillance activity. The Commission felt that, not only should the patrons be told that the Centre is collecting personal information, but they should also be told why the personal information is being collected, how that information is to be used and disclosed, and whom to contact if a patron has questions about their personal information. For a copy of the Commissioners' Order dated March 14 2007, see: http://www.oipc.ab.ca/ims/client/upload/P2006-008.pdf Summary by: James Kosa