Derek,
We have dealt with this issue in the past. Usually the situation involves something relating to children services. However, it can occur in other areas such as someone on the telephone recording the call.
I had a case where the applicant called up, asked if he could record the call. I agreed to the recording. A few days later, he called again and said "I want to speak to Lawrence Serewicz". I said "This is Lawrence Serewicz" He then said, "No, I want to speak to the other Lawrence Serewicz because you are not the Lawrence Serewicz I was speaking to the other day." (even though he had the recording of my voice to compare. :))
My view was that I would not say anything differently to the person on the telephone as I would in person or in writing. The alternative to not recording is to ask that everything be done in writing. This proves incredibly time consuming for the officers.
There are two issues to consider that could be at the root of the desire to record officers. The first is trust. The second is accountability.
What I have found is that at the root of this request is the question of trust. The client often distrusts the organisation, in some cases the specific officer, so they believe that recording will protect them from whatever behaviour they experienced previously. I would suggest investigating that issue and see if there are ways to improve trust and transparency for clients.
One way is to offer a written summary of what was discussed and agreed that the other person confirms. I have used this to effect, but it can be time consuming. Another way, as mentioned above, is to do everything in writing. This hardly allows for spontaneous discussions of complex or sensitive topics.
On the issue of accountability, the client may feel that they have no way to hold the officer or organisation to account except by recording. This is particularly an issue where the officers or frontline workers have great discretion in applying policies or procedure. Lipsky call this street level bureaucracy.
Please note that in some cases the customer may not have been aware that the organisations worked, in particular the complaint process, on the principal "That if it is not written down, it did not happen." In that approach, the organisation writes the official story and the client is left saying "I did not say that/agree to that" with nothing written down or recorded to support their position. The client will then feel that they have to record the call/interaction so that they are not caught out again.
Please note that if you search vexatious complainant policies across the UK you will find the exact same wording in most of them. Search Google with search tool "verbatim" for the sentence "electronically record meetings and conversations without the prior knowledge and consent of the other person involved".
Even though many organisations in the UK have this in their policy, it is not tenable under DPA or RIPA. The person recording the telephone call does not have to say they intend to record or they are recording the call if they do it from their home. (Gordon Brown found this out the hard way).
If you are interested, I have written a couple of blogs on these issues. I hope they are of use.
Best,
Lawrence
https://thoughtmanagement.org/2013/12/14/if-it-is-not-written-down-it-did-not-happen-a-problematic-approach-to-customer-service/
https://lawrenceserewicz.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/street-justice-social-media/
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Derek O'Connor
Sent: 10 February 2016 16:36
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: members of public filming / recording staff
With emerging technologies the issue of members of the public filming recording staff is becoming more prevalent (for example when on a visit to see member of staff about a complaint, or in a meeting/discussion with a member of staff regarding their welfare or benefits, or just speaking to a member of staff in a reception area etc etc) .
My view is that staff do not have to subjected to this, and can refuse. Would the member of the public be considered a DC and therefore attract all the responsibilities that that entails? I can't see that that could rely on the domestic purposes exemption.
Any thoughts?
Derek
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