CCTV cameras in your facility can be very important for security. At the same time, though, it is important to consider the privacy concerns of employees.

A courthouse in Jackson County, Alabama, had security cameras installed in 2019 after an incident involving firearms. This sounds quite appropriate, although one of the cameras later caused concern that it may have been used for inappropriate surveillance of a female employee. News reports did not discuss the actual location of the camera though.

In December of 2020, the camera of concern was brought to the attention of authorities. There was enough concern for the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

The camera in question was promptly removed, but the concern prompted them to hire a professional sweep of the facility.

From WHNT News19

One day after the investigation was made public, Commission Chairman Tim Guffey resigned vaguely citing health reasons. In a statement, he said, “ I did not consult the other commissioners on where to place the cameras.” The statement goes on to say “No cameras were ever intended for purposes other than observance of command areas.”

District 3 Commissioner AJ Buckner told News 19 that so far, they have found no evidence that any other cameras are where they should not be, but they would like to go through a security sweep process to be sure.

“We wanted to make sure the integrity and the safety of the building were unquestioned and to do that, we felt a sweep of the building was essential. We want our employees to know that they’re not being watched, they’re not being recorded, anyway that they wouldn’t know. Obviously, for safety reasons, we need to have our corridors and our entrances and exits recorded so you can keep up with who’s coming in and out for the definite safety issues that you have in a courthouse. But there’s no reason for cameras to be in places where they shouldn’t be. And by places where it shouldn’t be I’m talking about office areas, work areas, break areas, those types of things. And bathrooms, no question,” said Buckner.

 

From the Clarion:

At the Jackson County Commission meeting held on Monday, January 25, 2021, Interim Chairman Jason Venable gave an update on the counter-surveillance sweep that was done at the courthouse after allegations of covert surveillance surfaced. Venable held a four-page report as he gave the results.
Venable stated, “Based on the examinations, the writer is of the opinion that no video evidence or active covert video/audio/collection evidence was identified in the area examined during the time of these examinations.”

According to Venable, the person who performed the sweep is from a company in Birmingham and is the same person hired for the Bench and Bar, who swept the entire upstairs of the courthouse, such as offices, judge’s chambers, courtrooms, etc., along with the bottom floors. According to EMA Director, Paul Smith, the sweeps lasted until almost midnight. Each department head was present and directed to ensure every possible area was covered.

Kudos to Jackson County for considering hiring a professional.

As mentioned in a previous post (here), a dental clinic near Chicago faced a different outcome when a camera was found in their restroom. Management assured the staff that the facilities would be swept, but a second camera was found a few days later. They now face 11 lawsuits of $50,000 each from their employees.

This incident helps to highlight the value of having regular sweeps performed and developing a good business relationship with a professional TSCM provider. You need to know who to call for prompt response when something inappropriate is discovered.  One of our clients found a camera in an employee locker room. We were called in immediately and by the time the news media were reporting on the event the company had issued a statement stating that all of their buildings were now being swept for hidden cameras.

For more reports on the Jackson County incident, please see:

The Clarion.org
WAFF.com
WHNT.com