Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8The Age of the Security Camera By: Frank Friday Esquire Director privacy and we will probably see some push-back in the near future over the extent of security camera usage. At the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, we have some security cameras in our facilities, especially the main customer rooms. This is a typical security arrangement and the recordings of the cameras are public records by Kentucky law, though tapes only exist a short while before they are copied over. Our cameras are also used on the website to show current wait levels in the branches. However, the cameras are not live-streamed, offering only intermittent pictures to protect customer privacy. As a general rule, only public places, indoor and out, may be covered by cameras; that leaves out restrooms, other people’s property, dressing rooms, and locker rooms. Several states, but not Kentucky, require consent to use audio on cameras, so that is why most private security are video only. Police may be video-taped, but not harassed with cameras. There is also a special federal law for schools, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA, that exempts most school records including tapes, from any Open Records laws. That’s probably just the beginning of privacy legislation to reign in these very useful but now ubiquitous pieces of technologies. It turns out Allen Funt meant everybody when he said, “Smile, you’re on candid camera.” continued from page 1 2