Hidden Cameras: The Silent Threat to Our Privacy and Safety

In recent years, a disturbing trend has emerged across the UK and beyond: the rise in the use of hidden cameras and surveillance devices to spy on unsuspecting victims in places where they have every right to feel safe and secure.

From homes to schools, gyms to workplaces, the threat posed by covert cameras is real, growing, and deeply invasive.

Hidden Cameras: A Growing Crisis in Plain Sight

Consider these recent examples:

• A woman discovered a hidden camera inside a rented home — a deeply personal violation of her privacy (MSN).

• At a potato factory, the owner was charged after a camera was found installed in a bathroom used by staff (ABC7 Amarillo).

• At a Hermosa Beach school dance and music centre, hidden cameras were discovered in bathrooms. A former employee was arrested in connection (ABC7).

• In North Shields, a man covertly filmed women and children over several years using hidden devices placed in bathrooms (ChronicleLive).

• A caretaker at a Gosforth school was found to have installed covert surveillance in private areas of the school (ChronicleLive).

• A registered sex offender in Blyth used hidden cameras to record victims in their own homes without their knowledge (ChronicleLive).

These are not isolated incidents. They form part of a wider pattern of technical surveillance abuse that targets ordinary people — staff, students, customers, children — in environments where trust should be assumed.

How Voyeurs Operate

Perpetrators of this kind of surveillance are often calculated and meticulous. They use tiny, hard-to-detect cameras hidden in everyday objects such as smoke detectors, plug sockets, coat hooks, USB chargers, or even lightbulbs. These devices are inexpensive, readily available online, and disturbingly easy to conceal.

Footage collected may be stored locally on SD cards or transmitted in real time via Wi-Fi or mobile networks. In many cases, this material is not just watched privately but shared or sold online through illicit websites and platforms.

The victims often never know they’ve been recorded — until the footage surfaces, or the devices are found.

Safeguarding Responsibilities for Organisations

All organisations — whether a school, coffee shop, gym, retail store, or office — must be proactive in preventing this form of abuse. Areas of particular concern include:

• Toilets

• Changing rooms

• Showers

• Staff rooms

• Communal bathrooms

These spaces should be subject to regular, professional checks for hidden surveillance devices. A failure to take reasonable precautions may lead to serious safeguarding breaches — and potential legal liability if it emerges that an offence has occurred on the premises.

Doing nothing is no longer an option.

The Devastating Impact on Victims

For those targeted by hidden cameras, the emotional and psychological toll is profound. Feelings of violation, anxiety, fear, and shame are common. Victims often struggle to trust others or feel safe in public or even in their own homes. The ripple effect on their relationships, work life, and mental health can be devastating and long-lasting.

SIASS Can Help

At SIASS, we specialise in technical surveillance and working with our colleagues at Verrimus we have specialist technical surveillance countermeasures support too— including the detection and removal of hidden cameras and listening devices. Our expert team offers:

• Site sweeps and inspections for covert surveillance

• Staff awareness training

• Policy advice for safeguarding and privacy compliance

• Confidential support and guidance following an incident

If you manage or own a facility that includes private spaces for staff or the public, you must act now.

Don’t wait for a safeguarding disaster to unfold on your watch. Contact the SIASS technical surveillance team today for trusted, expert advice on how to mitigate this growing threat.

📞 Reach out today at www.siass.org.uk and let’s take steps together to safeguard privacy, trust, and safety in your organisation.