Surveillance Camera Code of Practice

The Surveillance Camera Code of Practice issued by the Home Secretary under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 was developed to provide a coherent and comprehensive structure against which best practice in visual data processing and/or management could be measured and assessed.

The Code of Practice (CoP) sets out 12 guiding principles which aim to strike a balance between protecting the public and upholding civil liberties. 

Owing to the broad scope of surveillance technologies available, the Code of Practice (CoP) is applicable to the data and privacy requirements for organisations deploying any of the following modalities of surveillance: 

• CCTV – Closed Circuit Television  
• BWV – Body Worn Video  
• UAS (Drones) – Unmanned Aircraft Systems  
• ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition  
• AFR – Automatic Facial Recognition

Certification against the CoP allows organisations utilising any of the above technologies to demonstrate compliance with best practice surveillance requirements which in turn provides public reassurance that video recording devices are used proportionately, effectively and in pursuit of a legitimate aim.  

IQ Verify are one of only three organisations who have been approved by the UK Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) to audit against this essential surveillance standard. Successful organisations are awarded with the SCC digital certification mark and are featured on the .gov publicly available register of Code Compliant companies. Whether you are a private car park operator or drone organisation, local authority or police force, certification against the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice provides confirmation that your organisation adheres to the highest standards of data and privacy in its use of surveillance based technology.  

For more information, please refer to the additional guidance below or refer to our partnership section for view of the audit discounts that we have available.