Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
February 19, 2013

OIPC Guidelines for the Use of Video Surveillance Systems in Schools

Information and Privacy Commissioner Ed Ring is pleased to officially release “Guidelines for the Use of Video Surveillance in Schools”.

Commissioner Ring commented that “the continued proliferation of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) is a concern for many privacy advocates and other Privacy Commissioners in Canada. The increasing presence of these cameras in schools has raised privacy concerns about how the personal information gathered by these CCTV systems is collected, used and disclosed, and more fundamentally, whether CCTV cameras are always the right answer to the concerns of parents and teachers.” Commissioner Ring expressed the view that “these guidelines will help schools to assess whether or not video surveillance is necessary, what locations and times cameras should be in operation, who should be able to view the recordings, how the recordings are stored, how long they are kept, and other considerations necessary to ensure that the use of this technology is compliant with privacy law.”

Guidelines for all public bodies in the use of CCTV (also known as video surveillance) have been in place on the OIPC web site since 2005, however these will be updated in the near future as well.

Currently CCTV systems are in place in over 25 per cent of all Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, and all new schools are pre-wired for the installation of CCTV systems. In addition, more than 30 school busses in Newfoundland and Labrador currently employ CCTV systems.

After extensive study of national and international trends and usage of CCTV systems, the OIPC began the process of preparing a set of guidelines that it encourages all primary and secondary educational facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador to follow in order to ensure that any use of CCTV is compliant with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA).

The OIPC would like to express its gratitude to the Department of Education, all five school districts, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association (NLTA) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils for their valuable input in the preparation of these comprehensive guidelines.

For a copy of the OIPC's “Guidelines for the Use of Video Surveillance in Schools,” please go to: www.oipc.nl.ca/resources.htm

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Media contact:
Ed Ring
Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309

2013 02 19                      4:05 p.m.