Bathroom Security Cameras: Are They Ever OK?
As security camera installation and integration experts, here at GenX Security we are typically asked to put security cameras in places that are pretty standard for the location, building, and purpose. Occasionally we are asked to place security cameras where you wouldn't expect, and most of the time the rationale makes perfect sense. But, what about security cameras in controversial places where privacy is a big concern, such as a bathroom? Is it ever OK? Security Sales and Integration Magazine delves into this tricky subject.
Legal expert Ken Kirschenbaum says every rule has exceptions, and there can be unique applications where video surveillance cameras in bathrooms are needed.
The expectation for privacy in a bathroom is pretty universal. As such, installing security contractors know that they should not install a video surveillance camera in a home’s bathroom or a commercial restroom. Right?
Maybe not.
According to SSI “Legal Briefing” columnist Ken Kirschenbaum, there might be very unique circumstances where it is OK to install a security camera in a bathroom.
“Certainly, there are hard core lines which should not be crossed, rules that can never be broken, but, for every rule there is probably an exception,” he says in response to an inquiry from an integrator who was requested to install surveillance cameras in the bathroom of a drug-testing facililty. “Bathrooms are universally considered an area where privacy is expected. One does not expect to be spied on in a bathroom. Audio and video interception and recording have no place in the bathroom.”
He continues: “I was about to use a nursing home or hospital bathroom as an example where monitoring may be necessary, but even in those that I have seen there is, at most, a pull cord for emergency notification. That is really not enough in some circumstances. Some patients may need to be under surveillance at all times, even in the loo.
“That brings us to the drug testing clinic. While we all have been asked for urine samples at our doctor’s office and offered a private bathroom, privacy may actually defeat the purpose of drug testing. I suppose someone could be searched before being permitted to go into a private bathroom, but that search would require consent; the same consent that would be required to video someone in the bathroom.”
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