Castricum municipality is going to adjust camera surveillance in and around the village center. There will be more and new warning signs, the municipality will provide text and explanation on its website, and the policy will be reviewed by the mayor. With these adjustments, the municipality wants to avoid a fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens . This is confirmed by the data protection officer (FG) of the municipality to nieuwsuitcastricum.nl when asked.
Last summer, journalist Rens Blom denounced the North Holland municipality's camera surveillance. He concluded that the cameras in the city center do not comply with national and international laws and regulations. For example, the security cameras were placed as a temporary measure, to reduce nightlife violence on weekends. However, the cameras were taking images 24/7.
Privacy experts further argued that the warning signs near the cameras did not meet legal requirements. On them was only the text "Cameratoezicht politie Alkmaar," and nothing about where to find more information about the camera surveillance. Also, the municipality failed to place notification signs around the cameras so that passersby would know they were being filmed.
Finally, the provision of information fell short. There was nothing on the municipality's website about camera surveillance in and around the village center. Council documents and other documents about the decision-making process were inaccessible, and council members appeared to be unaware of the permanent surveillance.
The data protection officer of the BUCH municipalities (Bergen, Uitgeest, Castricum and Heiloo) investigated the matter. She found that the camera surveillance was "not designed appropriately." It does not comply with the ground rules laid down in the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG), because the municipality unjustifiably records images 24/7. Furthermore, rules in the Municipal Law are not being followed.
The FG made recommendations to correct these violations. The municipality has studied these and decided to make adjustments so that the camera surveillance does comply with all regulations. For starters, the municipality's security consultant is having additional informational signs placed at hospitality venues. The nightlife and other visitors will then know that they are being filmed. Also, the municipality is going to offer information about camera surveillance on its website.
Before moving to permanent camera surveillance, the policy must be evaluated periodically by the mayor. That is stipulated in the Municipalities Act. That did not happen now, according to the security consultant, because the municipality did not have time for it due to the corona crisis.
Privacy lawyer Bas Bekenkamp of Privacy Company argues that this could cause problems. "As long as there is no legitimate decision by the mayor, the municipality does not comply with the Municipalities Act. The consequence of the lack of a legitimate decision is that the police may also not legitimately collect, store, or further apply the images with the cameras. Because if there is no legitimate decision, there is no basis for doing so."
In turn, the police are thereby violating the Police Data Act. This law dictates the rights and obligations of police officers and citizens to process police data. That is personal data that the police collect in carrying out their legal duties.
The municipality wants to continue camera surveillance in and around Castricum's nightlife area. For this a new decision must be made. For this reason, the security advisor has commissioned an investigation, together with the municipality of Alkmaar and the police. The central question of the study is how to improve camera surveillance. At a later date, the local security triangle -consisting of the mayor, police and the Openbaar Ministerie will be given the opportunity to issue an opinion.
"After discussing the opinion, the mayor will make a new decision on how to continue camera surveillance," the security consultant said. The study would be in its final stages and would be presented in the near future. How long it will then take the municipality to comply with all laws and regulations is unclear.
Gemeente Castricum is doing everything it can to avoid a fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens . The municipality of Enschede can confirm that the fines from the privacy watchdog are not soft. This municipality was fined 600,000 euros last April because it measured the crowds in the city center with WiFi signals. The regulator ruled that was a serious invasion of privacy. The municipality announced in July that it will challenge the fine on appeal: it believes the penalty is "unjustified and disproportionate.
