Hidden Cameras at Clubs

[JustAskJulie]

I was sent the below question via email and asked to post it anonymously
--------------------------------------------------------------------

What does everyone think about hidden cameras in swing clubs? A club owner in our area says all clubs have hidden cameras in the social areas for everyone's protection, but none in private areas. Is this true? Do you consider it acceptable? What would you do if you found out your club had hidden cameras inside the club at entrances and common social areas?

Anonymous

[BiloxiCouple]

Interesting question.

I hope clubs don't have "hidden" cameras. There is a law about reasonable expectation of privacy. Normally goes for bathrooms, bedrooms, changing rooms at stores and areas where you expect privacy. If it is a "public" area then there probably isn't a problem.

Our off-premise club has monitored cameras in the parking lot for security. They are not hidden. Which I like.

They also have one on their bar to watch the cash register just like other businesses.

They also have a couple on the dance floor which are put on monitors for public viewing. Some people just love being on TV.

The do NOT allow cameras or camera phones in the club.

Be sure to ask at your club what kind of monitoring they do and where.

[MRnMSbhaven]

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

I was sent the below question via email and asked to post it anonymously
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A club owner in our area says all clubs have hidden cameras in the social areas for everyone's protection, but none in private areas. Do you consider it acceptable? What would you do if you found out your club had hidden cameras?

I would begin with an explination of private vs social area.

Our club allows "private" activity anywhere including the "social" areas. If I were to find out there were cameras that were actually recording something in any area where play was allowed, I would probably not go back.

I trust our club but I deserve to be able to make the choice. If I'm told I can play somewhere I expect there to not be recording of any form unless I've been asked or notified.

That being said, if there is no actual recording and they're just using it so the security personel can be in 20 places at once, I'm ok with that.

Ms B

[ncmd_couple]

The three clubs that we have been too, no, I don't think that they have hidden cameras. Primarily because the owners are low tech folks. Two of the clubs do have a camera in a room, but it is widely advertised that they are there for your own enjoyment.

[ShellyM]

Wow, thats scary to think about. I honestly don't know if any we go to do that. I want to say no but heck, I guess you never know. Personally I would not care but I know alot of people who are doctors, high profile people who would freak.

[lovinher]

I know a bit about security system setup and placement of devices.
If they are for security why hide them? The best security is visible security. I would be very suspicious of hidden cameras and if I had even a suspicion of any being there it would be the last time I would be there.

Hiding security cameras does not make sense at all.

[ncmd_couple]

Lovinher,

I too am very familiar with physical security systems. I did look at all three clubs for cameras and didn't spot anything suspicious. There really isn't a way to hide a camera from someone who knows what to look for.

[lovinher]

You might not find the camera but you can tell if there are cameras or at least a system. If I saw signs of cameras (video), but not the cameras themselves, I would assume they are hidden and I'm out of there for good. I don't even like the idea of visable cameras in the social areas or anywhere for that matter. Outside I could live with. Those would be for true security purposes. But inside, anywhere for any reason, no way. Once a basic system is installed, recording is only $100.00 worth of equipment away and very easy to do.

[VegasLee]

We do not have any cameras at the club and we do not allow any. This year we have had to stop allowing cell phones because of the camera problem. Cell phones have to be taken outside to be used.

Over the years we have heard of some club owners/managers starting rumors that other clubs have camera's to scare people but honestly we have never found a camera in any club we have gone to. We also know many club owners and they don't have camera's. Some do have them in their parking lots but that is for your safety.

If the camera is for your safety, it is out in the open, if it is hidden, chances are it is a place you don't want to be going to.

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by lovinher

You might not find the camera but you can tell if there are cameras or at least a system. If I saw signs of cameras (video), but not the cameras themselves, I would assume they are hidden and I'm out of there for good. I don't even like the idea of visable cameras in the social areas or anywhere for that matter. Outside I could live with. Those would be for true security purposes. But inside, anywhere for any reason, no way. Once a basic system is installed, recording is only $100.00 worth of equipment away and very easy to do.

So what are the signs that there is a system in place, if the cameras themselves are not visible?

[nwincouple17154]

Our club has no security cameras or recording devices of any kind. We take people's privacy seriously. We do have security staff who walk around inside as well as the parking lot. We also don't allow anyone to bring in any recording device, including camera phones. We do check cell phones too at the door. We have a cell phone parking area in the kitchen, totally away from the guests for people who have kid and work issues and need to bring them in.

Trish

[ross_sally]

I was told that the Clubs take hidden video, just for assurance to "have" something on would be trouble makers.

[Close Encounters]

Originally Posted by ross_sally

I was told that the Clubs take hidden video, just for assurance to "have" something on would be trouble makers.

That is total nonsense if you have a trouble maker you don't have to "have" something on them just throw them out.

[ross_sally]

Pee Wee, I believe you can speak for yourself. You don't know what other Club owners are doing, and the comment above makes perfect sense.

I wasn't the one that started this Thread, but it's understandably a big concern for all involved.
But what I find disturbing in addition to hidden videos, is that someone was apparently afraid to even offer the discussion up to this board ....

"I was sent the below question via email and asked to post it anonymously" is how this thread was started.

There are incredible open discussions here about many things you can't discuss anywhere else, (which I appreciate and think the host is wonderful ) ..... with the glowing exception of CLUB REVIEWS?!

What's with that?

A Club review was what brought me here originally. But oddly enough, with the number of people on this board, and the number of couples said to go to the Club parties, "60 -80 couples", THERE ARE EITHER 2, 1, or NO REVIEWS for the 5 Clubs I looked up? And this goes back through a few YEARS.

Take your Club Pee Wee, 2 reviews in 3 years? 2 pretty good reviews, but this review below being the last one from over 3 years ago?!!

01-02-2005, 10:59 AM "The club itself was small with a decent atmosphere. The dance floor was probably 20X20 and the music was good. The couples there were a somewhat older crowd. Probably 80% in the over-40 crowd. We were a bit disappointed. It was the New Years Eve social."

User reviews are HUGE on the internet now! So what's up with this?

Is there an unwritten rule we can't talk about the Clubs here?

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by ross_sally

User reviews are HUGE on the internet now! So what's up with this?

Is there an unwritten rule we can't talk about the Clubs here?

Not at all. I actually wish we had a lot more reviews. I think part of the problem has been the several changes we have gone through in the review process on this site. In the process of those changes many reviews have gotten lost or removed (I don't see a lot of reason in keeping many old reviews).

The way reviews were originally posted was that they were emailed to me and I posted them. This led to a lot of issues as quite often what we dealt with were competing clubs posting negative reviews of each other and positve reviews of themselves (using different email addresses). It was very hard to track manually.

So I had a system designed to help out with that issue, which required users to register to post reviews. This made sure that each post was from a different registered user (which we can track via email and IP address) to do away with the previous issue of club hosts/owners posting reviews. Some clubs didn't like that and have found that the easiest way around something is that if they have a review they don't like they remove their club listing altogether and start over.

The latest board upgrade last fall forced us to completely change the system yet again. I don't care for the new system as much as I did the one I had designed but we take what we can get. I think the new layout for the club listings & reviews has cut down on the number of reviews that we have posted overall.

Another issue that affects the reviews now is that they are no longer anonymous, therefore some people are hesitant to post negative reviews of a club or to be completely honest becuase they are scared that someone might confront them on it.

There are a lot of issues at play in regards to the club reviews, in the end, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.

Back to the original question at hand. I'm sure there are some clubs out there that have hidden cameras just like I know there are some clubs out there that are run by scum who think that just because they are the hosts they get first dibs at every couple who walks in the door. But, I don't think that is a majority by any means. Is it a question you should ask yourself when looking at a new club? yes. In the end, I think that those who have cameras may use the excuse you posted as an EXCUSE... but most likely their real reason is that it gives the scummy host something to jerk off to after hours.