Posts Tagged ‘Legal’

Granny Cams: Is It Legal To Monitor Your Loved Ones In A Nursing Home?

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We’ve all seen the television news magazines exposés on babysitter surveillance (also known as “nanny cams”). But more and more, unfortunately, the news pieces are likely to feature “Granny Cams” instead.

As the U. S. population ages, more people are headed to nursing homes or have regular home health care. And, just as children are in a vulnerable position in relation to their caregivers, nursing home patients are likewise vulnerable and unable to fully communicate. A camera may be just what you need to put your mind at ease.   

Supporters of the nursing home cameras believe that they could weed out elder abuse by nursing home employees as well as document poor care and neglect. Not surprisingly, nursing home owners believe that this surveillance is an invasion of privacy of residents and staff.   

Is the use of a “granny cam” the same, under the law, as a “nanny cam”? Can it lead to civil lawsuits or a criminal investigation or charge? Unfortunately, the law in this area is not uniform across all 50 states and many of the legal issues have not been dealt with yet by the courts. You will probably need to have a specific conversation with a licensed attorney in your area to determine how to approach nursing home surveillance.      

Just as with nanny cams, visible video cameras (not hidden in any way) are generally not illegal if they are in a non-private place.  If the camera records sound as well as video, you must comply with federal and state wiretapping and eavesdropping laws.  You will need consent of one or all parties to any recorded conversation, depending on your jurisdiction.    

Hidden cameras are a little stickier. There is a federal law which makes it a crime to secretly capture photo or video images of people in places and situations in which they have an expectation of privacy, such as bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, hotel rooms and tanning salons. A nursing home bedroom would probably make the list as well.  Most states now have laws similar to the federal laws.   

In the case of a “granny cam” though, some additional concerns are raised.   The two issues often raised in this situation are (1) the ability of the nursing home patient to consent to the surveillance and (2) the privacy of any roommate.   

If the patient has not been deemed incompetent by a court, he or she may be able to legally consent to any recording.  If the patient is less than competent for any reason, a legally-appointed guardian or attorney-in-fact (someone given authority by power of attorney) may be able to give consent. In some states, consent by someone other than a competent resident may not be adequate to support the recording.   

The second issue is a privacy concern.  Many nursing homes have double rooms. In that case, it is the best practice to obtain written consent from any roommate or legal representative of the roommate.  The surveillance could very well record the dressing and undressing of both patients as well as bathing and medical treatments.   

The state attorney general in New York has used hidden cameras (with the consent of the patient’s family) to record and prosecutor elder abuse.  A few other states (New Mexico and Texas) have specific laws which provide the requirements for use of a “granny cam”. The factors include notification of the nursing home of the use of the camera and consent of any roommate or representative of the roommate.  

Although some states, like Virginia, have adopted nursing home licensing regulations which cover video surveillance, most states have not passed specific legislation regarding nursing home surveillance. The resident (or, more likely, his or her family) must perform the installation and pay for any maintenance costs.   

Ultimately, your goal with a granny cam surveillance system is to prevent any abuse or neglect of your loved one – and not to catch an employee perpetrating a crime upon the patient. So, you may be best off considering a heart-to-heart conversation with the facility administration about your desire to perform surveillance.  And don’t forget to talk to your loved one’s roommate or his family about obtaining consent from them as well.

The Legal Issues of Using a Spy Camera at Home

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When home owners think about getting a hidden surveillance camera to monitor their house, the issues of legality often come into play. Perhaps you are debating this issue yourself: is it legal to spy on people you hire to work in your house? The good news is that as long as the you do not invade on employee privacy, it should not be an issue. In most states, as long as you don’t set up cameras in places where people expect it to be private, you are operating within the law. It should be obvious that private areas include rooms like the bathrooms, the dressing rooms and the bedrooms.
When adopting hidden surveillance cameras in the home, there’s no doubt the best approach is to use everyday items in which no one would suspect. Look at the spy cameras available on the market: a child’s teddy bear, a mantel clock, a desktop pen holder and heck, even a potted plant. Who knew that all these items could actually be home surveillance equipment? All these inconspicuous items mentioned are nothing out of the ordinary. The important thing is that the objects blend into the environment.
To further hide these items, here’s a tip. We know that most home owners get surveillance equipment to protect their property from people they hire. It might be nannies, maids, handy man, etc. Out of ethics, some home owners divulge to the prospective employees that while working on their house, they will be monitored by security cameras. With that warning, the owners then set up a dummy camera out in the open. This camera will serve only for “show”. However, hidden cameras will also be set up in other parts of the house. The out in the open camera will be a decoy to give the hired help a false sence of security. Should they attempt to steal anything, they will think that they only need to worry about one camera. And if nothing goes on, then no harm no foul.
So while video recording might be legal in home surveillance (with or without a person’s consent, check your state to be sure), it’s a different thing all together for audio recording. It is almost always illegal to record someone’s conversation without their permission.
If you’re unsure about what the law permits and doesn’t permit with covert surveillance, always check with a lawyer. It might be your intention to protect yourself from crime, but you never know if you’re doing something criminal yourself.

“Body-Worn” Surveillance Cameras: Are They Legal?

Pay attention to the Internet only minutes to all the amazing new technology appears in the “body worn” surveillance cameras. Hats, ties and pens may contain video or audio recorders. And the thinnest digital audio recorders can be slipped into your pocket without detection.

How are these “body worn” surveillance gadgets from other instruments covert surveillance from a legal standpoint?

Video recording (without sound) is usually good – even when the camera is hidden somewhere on his body – unless the person (s) record is a reasonable expectation of privacy, the taping done for some illegal purpose or not trespass on video recording. If space is recorded in a public place, most judges believe that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy of anyone using the space.

There is a federal law makes a crime secretly capture photos or video images of people in places and situations where they have an expectation of privacy. Most States such laws. These laws are often referred to as ‘Video Voyeurism’ statutes.

These laws make it a crime to secretly record or distribute images of people in places where they have reasonable expectations of privacy such as bathrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, hotel rooms and solariums. Federal law prohibits anyone from recording images of an individual private areas “without consent when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. So, to stay away from her own bedroom and bathroom, if you sporty necktie camera!

If the “body worn” surveillance camera captures the sound and video (such as Pen camera with audio available at this time) must comply with federal and state wiretapping laws and eavesdropping. You have the consent of one or all parties recorded conversation, depending on your jurisdiction. Federal statutes can intervene telephone calls and other electronic communications to be recorded with the consent of at least one party to the conversation.

This means that if you are one of the people involved in the call (and using their new DVR pen), the call may be recorded (as a person – you – has consented to the recording). If you do not participate in the interview, or if you decide to go that DVR Pen sitting on the desk when you leave the room, at least one of the people in the conversation must be aware of and consent to the recording.

Just to make things slightly more confusing, each state and territory has its own statute for recording calls. Most interception and eavesdropping state laws based on federal law and writing with the consent of one party to the interview (usually in the “body worn” hidden camera situation).

Countries that allow one party consent recording of oral communications are: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. DC also allows people to record conversations with the consent of only one party. Nevada is licensed status, but this is how the law should be interpreted by the courts – may be regarded as “all party consent” state.

Member surely all parties should call a vote before being registered are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. (In California, there is one exception – you can record conversations with the consent of only one party if certain criminal activities (kidnapping, extortion, bribery or a violent crime) are taken into account.) All Member States consent, you will need to video surveillance only if you stick with the hidden nature of supervision.

In 1937 First State agreement “body worn” hidden camera in your flexible surveillance audio video to accompany you – because you will be presented for interview and record your consent and only required. For the subtleties of their own state laws and requirements, you should consult with a lawyer.