Wireless surveillance cameras - use, laws and ethics. | Nanny Cam Scenarios – Abuse

Scenario 3: Your kid has been clumsy lately. At least, that’s what the babysitter and your son both claim, though you sense your son is holding something back. Not one to make quick and unsubstantiated accusations, you still decide to setup a nanny cam. The next weekend you return from a night out at the movies with your husband and discover your son has yet another bruise earned, he claims, from tripping down the stairs. You pay the babysitter, put your kid to bed and, suspicious of their story, review the video from your wireless surveillance camera right away. You discover, to your horror, that your suspicions were valid. Your babysitter has been beating your son. 

The third installment of our nanny cam scenarios is the most chilling and disturbing of all. It’s the one thing we absolutely never want to have happen. In cases of sexual or physical abuse, the footage captured by your wireless surveillance camera might make the difference between successfully prosecuting the offender or having a case come down to your word against theirs. 

In the event that you review your nanny cam footage and discover abuse of any kind, do NOT call or confront the babysitter personally regardless the torrent of emotion you will be feeling. Our next post will contain a list of states in which there are specific laws regulating the use of hidden cameras. If you are in one of those states, we strongly suggest you convince your child to confess to the crimes the babysitter committed, take him or her to the hospital and call the police to meet you there and then speak to an attorney and confide you have video evidence of the crime only to your attorney for now. Your child’s physical health will be assessed at the hospital and photographic evidence of the crime will also be secured. In cases of sexual abuse, physical evidence may also be gathered. In states with strict laws against hidden nanny cameras, confiding in law enforcement agencies that you discovered the crime on your wireless surveillance camera should be, if at all possible, something you avoid until you’ve spoken to your attorney who can guide you in how best to use the evidence without getting in trouble for having violated a law yourself.

If your state does not have strict laws prohibiting the recording of individuals without their consent on a nanny cam, advise the police that you have video evidence of the crime committed against your child. They will likely wish to see it in advance of making the arrest as it serves as one more piece in a chain of evidence which will make an arrest ironclad. Be sure to make a copy of the recording as you’ll want to have another copy to provide to your attorney as well. 

We pray you never find yourself in the position of having to use evidence gathered by your wireless surveillance camera in prosecuting an individual for the abuse of your child. Should the worst happen, though, remember that you only have one shot at getting a solid conviction. Play it smart, keep your wits about you and you’ll at least be able to know you made a difference in the world.