Cameras in the Bedroom
March 1, 2013
see The Alarm Exchange below
A recent news article reported that a nurse's aid was video recorded abusing an elderly patient with Alzheimer's disease in the patient's nursing home bedroom. The aid was charged with 3 counts of endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person and violating public health law. She is facing one year in jail if convicted.
The hidden camera was placed in the room by the patient's granddaughter because she suspected mistreatment.
Cameras cannot be placed in any area where privacy is expected. Statutes that address the topic with any specificity almost always include bathrooms, dressing rooms and bedrooms. One of the more poplular questions I get in this forum asks whether you should install cameras in bedrooms and other areas you know is generally prohibited. Most times the penalty for improper camera placement is going to be against the party who is viewing the camera. But there can be penalties for those installing cameras in unlawful places and you need to know the law in your jurisdiction before deciding whether to install cameras in questionable places. You can start you research here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-law-issues
So how come the news report I read didn't raise the question about the hidden camera in the bedroom? When it comes to illegal audio or video interception or recording the problems begin with the misuse of the data. Does a falling tree make any noise in an uninhabited jungle? If the data isn't ever seen, circulated, publisized or misused, then who's the wiser? No harm no foul. Here the video data recorded imporper behavior and was provided to proper authorities. The granddaughter had the implicit if not express consent of her grandmother to place the covert camera. The grandmother essentially waived the privacy issue. The aid, on the other hand, had no right to privacy and should have had no expectation of privacy.
Camera installation, remote viewing, arm and disarm, video streaming or clips are all covered by the Residential All in One and the Commercial All in One.
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