First of all it it has been mentioned about the DATA protection act, this ONLY applies to businesses preventing them from passing on any information about suppliers/customers/ clients and companies should be registered under the act. Thats got that cleared away. I am registered under the Act so have all the revelent information.
Right next, back to the original question about the photographing of children, This can be a tricky one, it depends under what situation the photos were taken. If they were taken to provide photographic evidence of criminal activity,then anyone is allowed to take photos under those circumstances. If those photos were not presented to the authorities within a reasonable time period then it becomes suspicious and action should be taken. One of the problems here is to prove that the photos were not taken as photographic evidence. The original poster asking for advice is quite correct to have concerns and report it to the authorities for investigation.
Definately not to broadcast on a medium available to the general public without prior approval and permission.
However should photographs be taken of specific children, or easily identified children, then the parent/guardian should be approached first to obtain written permission stating the purpose for which the photos are going to be used.
The other situation is if the children happened to be part of a general street scene/fun fair or similar ,where it would be impossible to get a photo which didn't include children as part of the overall picture. This would normally be accepted and not come under suspicion even if made available on a public medium.
Where the parent/guardian is present when the photographs are taken, then if the photographer is approached at the time to raise an objection, the photograph can be removed without causing distress to either party. If the parent/guardian is present when the photograph is taken but doesn't make a complaint,then normally it would be deemed that the parent/guardian approved of the photograph being taken.
Right now for the CCTV question, these bits of equipment are in place to protect property if on private ground or operated by approved authorities for street crimes. As such they are not there to photograph children as such as the main subject, and if recorded by electronic means they can be held used as evidence and are generally not
deemed to be used for illegal purposes.
Realspeed
