Privacy Notice: Camera Surveillance

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust utilises surveillance cameras in and around the Trust’s sites, on our emergency vehicles and as Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) that are worn by our frontline staff.

Please note: the surveillance cameras inside our vehicles and the BWCs are only activated by the crew should they feel there is a risk to safety. Should they be activated, you will be advised by the crew (and/or an audio message will be played for CCTV whilst inside the vehicle and the body worn camera device light is lit when in recording function).

The legal basis for collection of surveillance camera images is that processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller, YAS (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). Our legitimate interest in doing so is in order to:

  • Protect staff, patients, visitors and Trust property;
  • Apprehend and prosecute offenders and provide evidence to take criminal or civil action in the courts;
  • Provide a deterrent effect and reduce unlawful activity;
  • Help provide a safer environment for our staff;
  • Assist with the verification of claims.

We do not perform any covert surveillance; covert surveillance is that carried out in a manner calculated to ensure that subjects of it are unaware it is, or may be, taking place. All buildings and vehicles where surveillance cameras are fitted will display awareness signs and a sign is displayed on all BWCs.

Upon receiving an official request to provide surveillance camera evidence, the Security Team would facilitate access to the relevant files and download the requested footage. This would then be passed to relevant parties who have a legitimate reason to review it.

All camera surveillance systems are managed by Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust.

In certain circumstances (investigations, serious or criminal incidents) we may need to disclose surveillance camera footage for legal reasons. When this is done there is a legal requirement for the organisation that has received the images to adhere to data protection legislation.

For example, for the purposes of prevention and detection of crime, we would securely disclose the footage to the Police, upon request.

Both premise and vehicle surveillance camera footage are stored until the capacity of the hard drive is exceeded, whereby it is then overwritten, or the footage is removed for investigation, whichever comes first.

Footage from activated BWCs is automatically overwritten after 31 days, unless it is required as part of an investigation. 

Each BWC device is enabled with a 30-second pre-record function that continually over-writes until the device is activated by the user. Any pre-recorded footage, that does not form part of an activated recording, will be deleted from the device when it is ‘docked’.

Footage that has been downloaded may be retained for an indefinite period and footage may be required at any point in time, even if just for the purposes of disclosure. However, the Trust will only download and retain footage that is likely to be used in an investigation. We cannot determine how long the Police would retain any footage given to them for crime prevention purposes.