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Request CCTV footage

CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras help us to prevent anti-social behaviour and crime. Find out how and why we use it, and whether you can request to view the footage.

We understand that the use CCTV on campus may cause concern but a national surveillance camera Code of Practice is used to make sure footage collected is kept secure and private.CCTV at the University of Leeds is used for the following:

  • to work with the Police to improve safety for students, staff and visitors to our campus.
  • to reduce the fear of crime by helping us to prevent and detect crime.
  • to help identify, arrest and prosecute criminals.
  • to help us collect information about things that may have been filmed and respond to them.
  • to monitor major events and incidents for student and staff protection, public safety, security and insurance purposes.

Our reasons for processing CCTV footage are set out in both the Student Privacy Notices and Staff Privacy Notices.

We make sure we meet the standards needed to obey relevant Acts of Parliament which regulate the capture, storage and release of CCTV footage. They are the:

How to request access to CCTV footage

CCTV footage can only be released under certain circumstances. How we can release the footage will vary depending on these.

  • We won’t normally release footage to students, staff or members of the public, but we may be able to let you to watch the footage on campus, if you have made a Data Subject Access Request and the footage is not part of a criminal investigation or insurance claim.
  • All University CCTV footage is kept for a maximum of 31 days.

Find out more in the following sections.

In connection with a criminal investigation

Footage can be requested by the police or other law enforcement agencies when they're investigating potential crimes and where the University has a legal obligation to share relevant data.  

CCTV footage won't be released to students, staff or members of the public if it relates to incidents under investigation by the police or law enforcement agencies.

If you are a law enforcement agency requiring access to our CCTV footage please complete the CCTV request Microsoft form and send appropriate, signed authorisation to us by email to the Data Protection Officer at DPO@leeds.ac.uk.

In connection with an insurance claim

If you require access to CCTV footage in connection with an insurance claim or for a solicitor working on your behalf, we have a duty in the public interest to release data which may be of relevance.

We will not release CCTV footage to students, staff or members of the public; please ask your insurance company or solicitor to request the CCTV footage directly by completing our CCTV request Microsoft form. 

Please note that if the incident has a crime number, only the police will be able to request the footage.  

In connection with a Data Subject Access Request

You can make a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) for any personal information you believe we may hold about you in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. In most cases you will not receive a copy of the footage but will instead be invited onto campus to view it.

If you wish to request CCTV footage of yourself, please complete our CCTV request Microsoft form.

We won't release CCTV footage under a DSAR request if:

  • the person making the request is not included in the footage
  • incidents captured in the footage are part of a criminal investigation
  • release of the footage may lead to distress for other persons captured.

How long we keep CCTV footage for

There is a limit on the length of time we keep CCTV footage for after it is captured, before it is overwritten due to storage capacity. This will vary depending on the purpose of the camera and its location: some CCTV footage may only be kept for a period of 26 days; the maximum length of time we keep footage for is 31 days.