Ethical Surveillance: What’s Your Procurement Checklist?

Do you know where your surveillance equipment is made? Where is your data being held? Does your tech support the ethical usage of surveillance? If not, you should read this blog. It provides a checklist of what to look out for in your procurement processes.

Ask where your equipment is made

In a recent poll of UK local councils, over a quarter of respondents didn’t know the manufacturer of their CCTV cameras. Around two-fifths admitted that companies linked to ethical or security concerns had supplied their technology.

Amendments to the Procurement Bill and the Government’s commitment to removing surveillance equipment linked to countries deemed a risk to national security (reflecting provisions made in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)) make it vital that organisations know where specific equipment (and its components) are made.

Whether you use a security consultant for procurement or work directly with a supplier, request that proof of equipment origin is supplied as part of the contract.

Keep control of cloud-based data

If you manage surveillance footage featuring staff or members of the public, you are responsible for handling what is classified as personal data. This means you must keep that data secure.

This raises a particularly interesting question for users of cloud-based solutions: How can you be sure data is secure when you don’t know where it’s stored?  

It’s easy to think of cloud storage as ethereal when in reality, information is held in very physical data centres. While not specifically covered by legislation such as NDAA and the UK’s Procurement Bill, the implications are the same. For data governance, your solution provider should allow you to choose the country where your cloud-based data is stored.

Choose tech that prioritises privacy and transparency

Data privacy compliance isn’t optional, and requirements continue to evolve. But when it comes to surveillance, safeguarding privacy is also an ethical best practice.

With this in mind, look for surveillance solutions that prioritise and simplify this, with features such as permission-based functionality access (meaning only employees of a certain level can access recorded footage) and automatic facial redaction.

Similarly, look to procure surveillance solutions that deliver user transparency, with built-in audit trail functionality showing every action taken by every operator. This will allow you to review and train your staff (using historical data) in line with ethical protocols.

Check your supplier’s ‘Modern Slavery’ stance

Between January and March 2023, the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the British Home Office (Interior Ministry) rose by more than a quarter compared to the same quarter in 2022. This is not an issue that is disappearing.

While procurement offices will be familiar with examining statements on Modern Slavery, this process has never been more important, especially with the increasing globalisation of supply chains.

Always ensure your surveillance equipment supplier has a current statement detailing ongoing risk assessments and preventative measures.