Data Protection Act, CCTV Cameras and the Law

This home protection and security question was answered by Tom Locks, Managing Director of Home
Star Security in Crowborough, Tonbridge.
Q: Recently theres been a spate of break-ins in my local area. I already have a burglar
alarm installed, but want to increase the security of my home even more would CCTV be a
good idea, and is it legal to install cameras in a domestic property?
A: CCTV is becoming even more popular as a security device according to the CCTV User Group; there
are around 1.5 million systems in operation in the UK. As it has grown in popularity, CCTV has become
an affordable way to secure properties, deter criminals and capture evidence of criminal activity.
However, if youre planning on installing security cameras, youll need to know about UK CCTV law
Planning Permission and Building Regulations for CCTV
You wont need planning permission to install CCTV, but if you live in a conservation area or listed
building its worth double checking this with your Local Building Authority. Building regulations also
dont apply to CCTV installation unless the work involves installing a lot of cables, in which case the
installer should follow electrical safety guidelines.
Another important legal concept to be aware of is privacy. Private people have a right to maintain their
own affairs outside public scrutiny. Prying into those affairs with a video camera is dicey legal ground.
Public figures have considerably less right to privacy, at least while they are in the public eye, so they
are safer quarry from a legal sense (although this doesn't apply to the ethics of the situation).
Generally speaking, anything that happens in public is fair game for videographers.
Related to privacy is using someone's likeness. Although you cannot copyright your face (even if it is a
work of art) it is yours and you do have some control over how it is portrayed or used. You cannot use
someone else's face or likeness in a commercial venture without permission. If a person's face appears
incidentally in a video shoot that occurs in a public place, it is an accepted use. This is why you don't
need to get permission from everyone who appears in a shot you take at an event in a public place,
but you do need release forms from your main models. "Incidental use" is different from "commercial
use" in the eyes of copyright and privacy law. The safest way to avoid a privacy conflict is to get model
release forms from the people who are the prominent subjects in your video (unless it's news footage,
in which case it probably falls under Fair Use). A model release form clearly spells out what you intend
to do with the image of the person you are shooting, along with whatever compensation you are
agreeing to pay, if any.

top Breeding Like Rabbits? The Pope Misses the Point on Contraception The Philippines Is Facing a
Terrifying Typhoon Once AgainNew Drug Holds Promise in Fight Against Bad Cholesterol NBC
NewsRobert Durst: Millionaire Drifter Who Can't Run From His Past NBC NewsInfamous Murder
Suspect Durst Arrested in New Orleans NBC NewsA U.S. Marine has been accused of her killing.
We will deliver messages of solidarity and push for justice, says Charlese Saballe, chairwoman of the Society of Transsexual
Women of the Philippines (STRAP). The media attention to Jennifers case means a slow movement toward bringing
transgender issues to the mainstream.Following Laudes Oct. 11 murder, media have mostly focused on the fact that suspect
Joseph Scott Pemberton has been held under U.S. guard, under a defense agreement between the two countries. Loud criticism
has been raised over the agreement, with protesters attempting to carry a mock coffin to the U.S. embassy in Manila on
Friday.However, as Steven Rood, the Asia Foundations representative in the Philippines, points out, much of that will blow
over.Theres the sensitivity of not treating Filipinos as second-class citizens in their own country, he says. But the backdrop is
that the average Filipino citizen is very much in favor of having U.S. troops here. This doesnt threaten U.S.-Filipino relations;
the strategic benefits for the alliance will override this specific issue.Rather, some people hope that the strong bilateral
connection between the two countries could impact the LGBT rights struggle in the Philippines. LGBT groups have participated
in several protests outside the U.S. embassy in Manila and at vigils in the U.S.If media and other groups in the U.S. frame
[Laudes murder] as a hate crime and focuses on transgender rights, it might trickle down to people in society here and affect how
they treat transgender and LGBT people, says Saballe.While visible, LGBT people in the Philippines lack anti-discriminatory

legislation and the legal recognition of transgender available in many other countries, including the U.S.[Seen] with American
eyes, the position of the LGBT community in the Philippines is an unusual one, says Rood. Its a normal part of the Filipino
community, but the violence they may be subjected to has not been very visible. This will certainly be a rallying cry.Saballe,
whose organization also monitors violence against LGBT people in the Philippines, stresses that the community is not really
accepted in society. She adds, Only days after Jennifer was killed, two other trans women were murdered.Fridays protest
action is being held simultaneously in four cities in the Philippines, with a solidarity event also arranged in the Netherlands and a
discussion forum in Thailand.

The brutal murder of Jennifer Laude brought to public attention the plight of transgender
people in the country.
The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community has been around for some time
combatting discrimination against, and protecting the human rights of its members.
However, Jennifers case jarred many of us into taking a closer look at how LGBT persons are
treated in our culture.
Sadly, reactions to her murder exposed how harsh and cruel we can be on persons who do
not conform to societal norms on how we are to live our lives.
I have been very vocal about my support for LGBT issues. The bottom line is, ALL persons
have the same human rights and no distinction, be it based on sex, race, color, political
and/or religious affiliation, economic status, cultural identity, sexual and/or gender
orientation and/or identity, should cause discrimination. This is clearly enshrined in the
various international human rights instruments ratified by the Philippine government.
Needles to say, the State, as duty bearer must do all it can so our people, all of us, without
any distinction, are able to enjoy our rights.
The reality, however, is different. We struggle to have the rights that are, in the first place,
inherently ours. This is the case of LGBT persons. This remains to be the case for women
although some would argue that the Filipina has gone a long way.
There was a time when women were not allowed to get an education, could not vote and run
for public office, could not enter professions that were exclusively mens, were expected to
keep home and tend to family needs first and foremost, were sex slaves, and were
considered as the weaker sex, and therefore, subordinate to the men in their lives.
Indeed, some things have changed. And we have to credit the womens movements, more
specifically, the feminist groups for whatever it is that present-day Filpinas enjoy. The rights
that some take for granted were borne out of many decades of hard work and struggle by
the women themselves.
NOTHING was given to us on a silver platter. We had to fight for every inch of space, every
opportunity to have our voice heard and listened to, for every peso we earn.
And most importantly, the struggle is far from over. The equality of the sexes remains a
distant dream. We have yet to experience it, we need to keep fighting for our rights.
How many women are still violated, abused in various ways because they are women and
considered as not equal with men? How many women remain unable to get gainful
employment on the basis of marital status, or physical appearance, or plain preference for
men? For those who are able to pursue careers especially in the corporate world, how many
exceptional women fail to get to the top because they hit the invisible, yet very real glass
ceiling?
Still, as we continue our work as feminists, we also choose to be one with and support the
LGBT struggle.
For some who came out in support of the #JusticeForJennifer call, this may have been
because it is the politically correct thing to do. For the feminists I know however, this is
beyond being PC, feminists are able to relate because the LGBT struggle is very similar to
ours-- it is largely gender-based.
I will venture to assert that, while the LGBT struggle is distinct, it is nonetheless directly
related to ours as feminists.
While we (feminists) question the status quo and fight against gender stereotypes (which we
see as societal/cultural dictates on what we can and cannot do as women) that put us in
boxes and result in discrimination and abuse, our LGBT friends are virtually doing the same.
They question the status quo and fight so the gender or sexual identity or orientation they

choose is considered as equal to anybody elses, no matter if such identity is different from
the one assigned to them at birth.
It is thus good for both movements to work in solidarity with each other. We are not
enemies.
Thus, I felt disturbed after reading the article When Women Become Men at Wellesley,
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/magazine/when-women-become-men-at-wellesleycollege.html?referrer=&_r=0 published by The New York Times last October 15.
I was told about this piece by a feminist lesbian activist who, together with another friend
were discussing about how disturbed they feel because of how womens gains might be
sacrificed in the name of inclusivity in relation with transgender men (persons who were
born female but have chosen to identify and live their lives as men).
Wellesley College is an exclusive womens college established so women could have access
to education at a time when such was not yet culturally accepted. Eventually, influenced by
womens activism, the college, like similar established womens colleges, became according
to the article, an antidote to sexism. It further said that womens colleges challenged the
conventions of womanhood.
Wellesley has been considered by its women students and alumnae as a safe place for
women. A place where they could flourish and fully develop as the persons they aspire to
become. It has produced many notable women leaders in various fields. Everything in
Wellesley is about womens empowerment, a very valid and relevant mission up to this day.
The article deals with the ongoing struggle waged by trans men who want to be recognized
as men equal to the women in the campus. For all intents and purposes, because they
identify as men, they are men in an all womens educational institution. Wellesley accepted
them when they were still women or on the basis of being women based on their papers.
These trans men have an organization in school for students who identify as males. They
want to change things in the campus so they become visible. They complain about
sisterhood which is a Wellesley battlecry.
Yes, reading this article disconcerted me. Especially the part where women who reacted to
what trans men are doing requested anonymity for fear of being labelled as trans-phobic.
These womens views are as valid as anyone elses. Are women again being silenced by a
movement that in the first place should be friendly to us? Should women give in to the
demands of those who do not identify as women and in the process lose some of the gains
won by the womens struggle? Or should other spaces be created for these trans men?
Some may say that hey, this is in America, not here! Yes it is but the LGBT movement is an
international one and discussions here are as passionately carried out as elsewhere. This is
fine and we support this. All struggles questioning all kinds of inequality are valid.
We have to remember though that this is not about any hierarchy of issues but rather, this is
a kind of revolution that aims for equality of all peoples, of the sexes, of all gender identities.
To win the revolution, we need a united front against systems, cultures, and ideologies that
reinforce the status quo.
We need to transcend our differences and strengthen our ranks.
I risk being labelled as trans-phobic by writing this piece but I repeat, the womens struggle
is still being waged. We are big allies of our LGBT friends. After all, persons who identify as
women are present in the movement and their issues are our issues.
However, the LGBT struggle should not be waged at the expense of womens spaces and
womens voices. We are friends, not enemies.
We do not want another Jennifer Laude case to again happen. As we do not want any more
women violated.
Reaction
The case has the potential to damage PhilippinesUnited States relations. There is an
existing PhilippinesUnited States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), complemented by the
2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and by annual military exercises known
as Balikatan, all of which are under greater scurtiny. [1] Several protests have been organized in
the Philippines and the United States calling for the Philippines to cancel both agreements. [1]

This is the second reported criminal case involving a United States Marine in the Philippines
under the existing Visiting Forces Agreement. In 2005, four Marines were tried in the
Philippines for rape in what became known as the Subic rape case. Three were acquitted at
trial and the fourth was convicted at trial but later acquitted on appeal after victim "Nicole"
recanted her testimony and immediately emigrated to the United States. [1]
Transgender rights activists and the left-wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan have protested what
they see as the "special treatment" of U.S. troops, such as Pemberton, in the Philippines,
compared to the second-class citizen treatment of Filipinos, such as Laude, in their own land,
which they characterize as neo-colonialism.[14][15][16] The Communist Party of the
Philippines condemned the United States' refusal to turn over full custody of Pemberton to
Philippine authorities and called for the abolition of the Visiting Forces Agreement which the
party views as lopsided to US military interests and violates Philippine sovereignity. The
communist group also views that the Philippine government refuses to fully assert full
jurisdiction on the case.[17] The Philippines was a colony of the United States during the early
20th century.[18]
The case has also prompted a discussion on transgender rights. A columnist for The Philippine
Star wrote that the case provides for an "opportunity to further gender sensitivity, promote
LGBT rights, and encourage tolerance and acceptance".[19]

Innocence and the Death Penalty

The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified.
Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 144 men and women have been released from
death row nationally.
The High Cost of the Death Penalty
It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life.
Death Penalty Can Prolong Suffering for Victims' Families
Many family members who have lost love ones to murder feel that the death penalty will not
heal their wounds nor will it end their pain; the extended legal process prior to executions
can prolong the agony experienced by the victims' families.
International Views on the Death Penalty
The vast majority of countries in Western Europe, North America and South America - more
than 139 nations worldwide - have abandoned capital punishment in law or in practice.
Inadequate Legal Representation
Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the
death penalty is the quality of the representation he or she is provided.
Deterrence
Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from
committing crime anymore than long prison sentences.
Arbitrariness in the Application of the Death Penalty
Politics, quality of legal counsel and the jurisdiction where a crime is committed are more
often the determining factors in a death penalty case than the facts of the crime itself.
Religious Perspectives on the Death Penalty
Although isolated passages of religious scripture have been quoted in support of the death
penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral.

Racial Disparities
The race of the victim and the race of the defendant in capital cases are major factors in
determining who is sentenced to die in this country. In 1990 a report from the General
Accounting Office concluded that "in 82 percent of the studies [reviewed], race of the victim
was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the
death penalty, i.e. those who murdered whites were more likely to be sentenced to death
than those who murdered blacks."
Alternatives to the Death Penalty
In every state that retains the death penalty, jurors have the option of sentencing convicted
capital murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentence is cheaper
to tax-payers and keeps violent offenders off the streets for good.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, refers to the custom of executing prisoners who are
convicted of certain crimes. Such crimes are known as capital crimes, and tend to be grave crimes against
persons or governments (such as premeditated murder, rape or treason).