The Spanish Agency for Data Protection has forced Nerja Council to disconnect CCTV security cameras installed outside the Local Police headquarters in avenida de Pescia following a denuncia made by the local branch of the Independent Local Police Union Andalucia (SIP-AN).
The installation of video surveillance must comply with the applicable requirements of the Organic Law of Protection of Information (LOPD) and Instruction 1/2006, and Nerja was found to be in violation of Articles 6.1 and 5 of the LOPD.
Some of the cameras were found to have captured images of the public on the public highway, namely avenida de Pescia, without the necessary permissions, administrative procedures and data protection requirements being in place to process such captured data.
It is notoriously difficult for municipalities to obtain the relevant permission to install video surveillance due to privacy issues. Málaga city has managed to legally install a few cameras in the centre of the city but most have been trying unsuccessfully for many years.
In many ways, one of the most striking aspects of this case is that the cameras installed as a security device to protect the police headquarters was denounced not by members of the public but by the Local Police union.