Our public spaces surveillance systems (CCTV) provide a safe public environment for those who live, work, visit and enjoy the facilities in North Yorkshire.
Public open space CCTV across North Yorkshire
We operate public open space CCTV cameras from two control rooms in Scarborough and Harrogate.
These CCTV control rooms aim to provide a 24 hour service, 365 days a year.
A team of highly trained CCTV operators provide proactive surveillance responding to live incidents and providing evidence to support investigations.
We work closely with North Yorkshire Police, maintaining direct communication via Police Airwaves with operational officers and the force control room.
Why do we need CCTV?
The main aims of CCTV are:
- to help detect and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour
- to assist with the prosecution of offenders
- to provide the police and the council with evidence to take criminal and civil action in the courts
- to reduce the fear of crime and provide reassurance to the public
- to protect property and assets owned by the council and others
- to provide assistance to emergency services
CCTV operates in the following towns, including some car parks and public buildings:
- Harrogate
- Northallerton
- Tadcaster
- Filey
- Knaresborough
- Stokesley
- Sherburn in Elmet
- Eastfield (Scarborough)
- Ripon
- Thirsk
- Scarborough
- Bedale
- Selby
- Whitby
We also provide a monitoring service on behalf of third parties in certain locations. We do not own these cameras but we are responsible for providing any evidence captured by these cameras. The locations are:
- Malton
- Pickering
- Hunmanby
- Kirbymoorside
Data protection and CCTV
In accordance with data protection and human rights law:
- images are retained for 30 days
- access to recordings and to the CCTV control rooms is restricted
- all operators must pass police vetting for use of airwaves radio, and where required hold a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence
CCTV cameras capture personal data and must comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act. We aim to comply with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s advice and guidance which defines the rules for the installation and operation of CCTV, as well as the management, access and use of recordings.
Requesting CCTV footage for vehicle damage
If you wish to obtain CCTV footage relating to vehicle damage, please ask your insurance company or the police to contact us directly on your behalf.
Requests should be sent to our Data Protection Officer (DPO), who will forward the request to the appropriate service area for consideration.
All requests must include:
- date of the incident
- time of the incident (or as precise a timeframe as possible)
- vehicle registration number, make, model and colour
- location of the incident
- description of the incident and the damage sustained
- any other information that may assist in identifying the relevant footage
Please note that CCTV footage is generally retained for 30 days only.
A fee may be charged for the retrieval and release of CCTV footage where applicable.
The provision of footage is subject to legal and data protection requirements.
Charges for CCTV footage
To enable us to recover costs associated with processing footage requests to third parties in connection with legal proceedings or for obtaining legal advice under s35 of the Data Protection Act, the following charges apply:
- £65.66 search fee for all requests
- £65.66 fee to provide evidence
CCTV Code of Practice
This document is currently under review.