RGDATA has called on the Government to carry out a review of the application of Data Protection law, as it applies to the use of CCTV for crime prevention purposes.
The call was made on the back of the publication of the Data Protection Commissioners Report for 2015, which confirmed that retailers sharing footage of alleged shoplifters are breaking the law.
RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley said that the use of the Data Protection laws to stop retailers from using CCTV to protect their businesses was both alarming and creating a legal imbalance between retailers and shoplifters.
She added that the capacity for retailers to share images of suspected shoplifters, including people who have been captured on CCTV shoplifting, was a key in helping shopkeepers in protect their businesses.
“The Report from the Data Protection Commissioner confirms that the balance of the law in this area has now tilted distinctly in favour of those that seek to commit crime by shoplifting from retailers,” she said.
Buckley added that RGDATA would be seeking a meeting with the Minister with responsibility for Data Protection, Dara Murphy to see if there is national discretion to amend Data Protection law.
"We need to get the balance right here. Clearly people have a right to privacy. But equally business people have an entitlement to protect their livelihoods from theft and should be able to use modern technology to achieve this aim
"It is also important that retailers should be able to work together to prevent crime and sharing CCTV images and information with each other about alleged perpetrators is a critical element to stopping retail crime," she concluded.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
