Council considers installing sound-recording CCTV

Uttlesford District Council in Essex is considering introducing a new CCTV policy

A council is looking to install security cameras that can record sound to help tackle anti-social behaviour.

A draft of Uttlesford District Council's new CCTV policy said the cameras would be installed at council-owned homes, commercial buildings, gardens, vehicles, and offices.

Sound recordings would only be used to deal with anti-social behaviour and crime, and not for general observation, it added.

The council said the use of audio recording would be made "very clear", though the cameras would be hidden in exceptional cases.

The devices could be used covertly if other ways of gathering evidence of crimes "fail to meet the purpose".

If introduced, images and audio recordings would usually be retained for 31 days.

But in ongoing anti-social behaviour cases, the recordings would be removed within one year of a case being closed or any legal proceedings ending.

Council tenants could also be asked to remove video doorbells from their homes if they were installed without written permission from the authority.

Councillors will debate the policy at a meeting later.