Whether you and your squad are heading out for some line dancing fun at Stampede or going to saddle up Saturdays at Whiskey River North or any of the other 1,200 bars and nightclubs scattered throughout Houston, you want to know that you’re going to have a good time. You also want to know you’ll be safe.
Having security cameras installed in a bar or nightclub can provide an extra measure of security.
That’s not just a smart idea for these businesses, but it’s also the law. In 2022, the Houston City Council overwhelmingly approved an ordinance that required certain businesses to install security cameras.
The hope is that the cameras deter crime from happening. Of course, if it does occur, the cameras can provide evidence for law enforcement to help solve crimes.
Security cameras can also provide evidence in slip and fall accidents. That footage could help establish who should be held accountable in a premises liability claim. All Houston residents need to understand the types of businesses that are required to have cameras and the associated limitations.
What Types of Businesses Are Required to Have Security Cameras?
The camera requirement for businesses is specified by the Houston City Council Administration and Regulatory Affairs. Here are all the types of businesses required to have security cameras:
Nightclubs and Bars
For this ordinance, any establishment that makes at least 50% or more of gross revenues from alcoholic beverages would be considered an official “nightclub or bar.”
Convenience Stores
A convenience store is defined as a business that is primarily engaged in the retail sale of convenience items such as food, household goods, or pharmaceutical items. This includes gas station convenience stores with a retail floor space of less than 10,000 square feet.
Game Rooms
If a building, facility, or other type of business has six or more amusement redemption machines, it must also have security cameras.
Sexually Oriented Business
An adult bookstore, adult cabaret, adult movie theater, or any business that caters to any type of adult-oriented enterprise is also required to have cameras.
It is essential to note that many businesses choose to install security cameras without being required to do so by the ordinance. For instance, you will likely find security cameras in grocery stores, movie theaters, large retail stores like Target and Walmart, or museums, to name a few.
What Are the Surveillance Camera Requirements?
You have probably seen television police dramas where a crime is committed at a business, but its security cameras aren’t working. That adds to the drama, but in reality, businesses face fines if they aren’t in compliance with the following camera requirements:
- Digital high resolution with a minimum aspect ratio of 1920 x 1080
- Include outdoor surveillance
- Be in continuous operation, even when the business is closed
- Recorded footage must be kept for at least 30 days
- Businesses must provide any footage requested by the Houston Police Department within 72 hours
How Do Security Cameras Help with a Premises Liability Claim?
A business that has surveillance cameras installed will post signs informing patrons that they will be under surveillance while on the property. That’s a good thing because it helps deter crime. It also supports the idea that if you become injured by slipping and falling in that establishment, there will be video proof of what happened.
That footage will be among the critical evidence that the attorneys at Barrera Law Group LLC will collect on behalf of their clients who are making a premises liability claim.
Along with witness testimony, medical records, and our client’s personal account of what happened, we can help establish that negligence caused the accident and the property owner should be held accountable for any losses suffered by the injured party.
If you’ve been injured at a business, we want to hear what happened.
Contact us to schedule a complimentary consultation today.