Security companies should implement zero visibility technology and policies so only senior personnel can gain access to captured personal particulars. This suggestion follows alarms being raised by the Justice Project SA (JPSA) over the sharing of personal information at private estates or gated communities, notes a Weekend Argus report.

Lee Marcus, from Robyn Hey Attorneys, suggested that only in emergencies or justifiable legal circumstances should personal info be accessed.

‘Visitors should be assured that their details will be deleted after a reasonably short period. The property owners will want this period to be longer, to help them trace and deal with offenders, damage and crime, for example. Individuals will inevitably prefer their details deleted without any delay. These are competing interests – both entirely valid – so a balance will have to be struck,’ said Marcus.

JPSA chairperson Howard Dembovsky said their concern began when a vehicle registration was cloned several times after the owner willingly shared details with guards at a private estate.

‘This is more common than we think it is. The Protection of Information Act is very specific. You have to destroy the information when it is no longer required, (but) there is no one to make sure that information is destroyed.’

Marcus said the root cause of the concern was not the fact that personal information was requested from visitors.

‘The problem is not knowing what might be done with that information. Is it secure? How is it stored, and for how long? Will it be shared? Can it be hacked and misused? It is in the answers to these questions that one is more likely to find unlawful behaviour that exposes people to risk.’

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