CCTV Footage Retention and Data-Management Policies

A camera never blinks, but your hard-drive space and legal patience certainly do. Keep recordings too briefly and you may lose vital evidence; keep them forever and you risk breaching UK GDPR—plus paying for a mountain of disks you rarely need. Striking the sweet spot means writing a clear retention policy and sticking to it.

This guide skips the legal waffle and digs into what most facilities, IT and compliance teams really want to know:

• How long should we keep footage? 
• Where and how do we store it? 
• Who can see it, and when? 
• What must we document to satisfy auditors or the ICO? 

By the end you’ll have a practical framework you can adopt today—no law degree required.

Why Retention Policies Matter

Footage is personal data. That means it falls squarely under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Regulators expect proof that you:

1. Have a lawful reason to record. 
2. Limit retention to what is “necessary and proportionate.” 
3. Secure the footage against loss or unauthorised access. 

A written retention policy is your evidence that you meet those duties. It also saves headaches when HR, insurers or the police request clips: you know exactly where to look and whether the data still exists.

For the legal basics, see our plain-English GDPR & CCTV compliance checklist.

Choosing the Right Retention Period

There is no one-size-fits-all figure in law, but most UK organisations settle on:

Ask two questions:

1. How long do incidents take to surface? If thefts are spotted within a week, 30 days covers you comfortably. 
2. Do external bodies set rules? Some regulators demand specific periods—always check. 

Once the period is agreed, configure your recorder or cloud platform to purge files automatically. Manual deletion routines inevitably slip.

Data-Management Best Practice in Plain English

1. Automate deletion. Set the recorder to overwrite oldest files once the policy day-count is reached.

2. Encrypt exports. When sharing clips with HR or police, use password-protected downloads or encrypted USB sticks.

3. Log every export. Name, date, reason—keeps auditors happy and discourages fishing expeditions.

4. Mask third-party faces. Built-in privacy-mask tools save hours of editing when you must blur uninvolved persons.

Document exceptions. If legal hold forces you to keep footage longer, note who approved it and when it should finally delete.

Who Needs Access—and Who Doesn’t

Good policies limit full access to a tiny group, typically Facilities or IT. HR and line managers receive clips only when an incident merits it; contractors or cleaning staff never need log-ins at all. Modern VMS software lets you create viewer, exporter and admin roles so nobody asks for the “main password.” It’s secure, and it stops those accidental setting changes that wipe half your disks.

Handling Subject-Access or Evidence Requests

An individual can ask for any footage that shows them. You have one month to comply. Make life easy by:

• Retaining clear camera labels (“Lobby-North”, “Server-Room-Door”).

• Logging time-stamps for all incidents.

• Using the VMS search by date/time + camera name.

If you receive a police production order, retention clocks pause: archive the requested clip, note the case reference, and store until the case is closed.

Simple Policy Template (Fill-In-the-Blanks)

Purpose: Protect staff, visitors and assets from crime and safety incidents.
Legal Basis: Legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR.
Retention Period: 30 days rolling overwrite (exceptions logged).
Storage Location: On-prem NVR RAID-5, replicated nightly to S3 bucket in London region.
Access Control: Facilities Manager and IT Security Lead (admin); HR Business Partner (export only).
Review Cycle: Annual, or after any ICO guidance update.

Copy, adapt and sign off with senior management—job done.

Real-World Example: Saving Disks, Avoiding Fines

A London design studio stored 90 days of footage by default, filling 16 TB of drives every two months. Yet they discovered incidents within a week 95 % of the time. ACCL helped them cut retention to 31 days, halved disk wear, and reduced power draw—while staying perfectly legal. The freed budget upgraded two cameras to 4 K quality. Compliance and clarity in one move.

Next Steps

1. Audit current settings: Check actual retention—don’t assume.

2. Draft the one-page policy using our template.

3. Configure auto-delete to match the policy.

4. Educate staff on how to request footage properly.

5. Review annually—laws and business risks change.

Need a hand turning that list into reality? Call ACCL on 0333 900 0101 or message us via our contact page. One site visit, and you’ll know exactly where you stand—no obligations.