The USB Copy of CCTV Footage
You are working the 19:00–07:00 shift in the CCTV control room of a retail distribution centre in Shah Alam. At 23:15, camera 14 shows the night-shift supervisor loading unmarked cartons from the dispatch area into the boot of his own car at the loading bay. At 23:20 the operations manager calls you and says: 'Copy that clip to my personal USB drive and keep it between us for now. Also zoom camera 9 on the staff locker area and tell me who was there at 22:50.' Camera 9 covers the corridor outside the locker room, but its field of view includes the open changing area. The DVR keeps 30 days of footage. Your agency's SOP requires all incidents to be logged and reported to the security manager.
1. How should you respond to the operations manager's request to copy the clip to his personal USB drive and keep it quiet?
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Do not comply with the request as made. Copying evidence to a personal USB drive and keeping it quiet destroys the chain of custody and may allow the footage to be altered or leaked. Tell the operations manager that you must log the incident and report it to the security manager under the SOP, and that you are not permitted to export to personal media. Preserve the original footage, restrict access to the control room, and record the request, time and words used. If the manager insists, escalate to the agency duty manager and the client's security manager. The operations manager may be conflicted or involved, so the report should go to someone independent of the night-shift supervisor and the operations manager.
2. Should you zoom camera 9 on the locker and changing area to identify who was there at 22:50?
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Not in the way requested. Camera 9's field of view includes an open changing area, so zooming in would collect images of people in a private setting without a lawful and necessary purpose. Under the PDPA 2010 and good CCTV practice, surveillance should be proportionate and limited to what is necessary. If there is a specific security incident, you may review the corridor outside the locker room, but you should avoid the changing area and minimise any incidental capture. Refer the request to the security manager. Record that the request was made and that you limited the view. Do not export or share images of the changing area.
3. Describe how you would preserve the CCTV evidence properly.
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Note the date, time, camera number, DVR clock and what was observed. Do not delete or overwrite the original. Export the relevant clip to agency-owned, encrypted media, not a personal device. Make two copies, record a hash value if the system allows, and complete a chain-of-custody form showing who exported it, when, from which DVR, and who received it. Store the copies in a locked cabinet or secure server. Hand over to police or the authorised investigator with a receipt. Keep the original footage in the DVR for the full retention period unless police direct otherwise. Log every access to the footage.