Images of attractive women stored in “sleaze file”

Feb 19, 2015 12:07 GMT  ·  By

A group of up to five security guards at a high-end shopping center in Australia used surveillance cameras to follow attractive women in the mall, zoom in on them and capture invasive images which were then stored in a folder for their personal use.

It is believed that the folder, which has been dubbed the “sleaze file,” contains up to 1,500 pictures of women, ordered by categories according to characteristics such as “Asian,” “black,” “white,” “legs,” “blonde,” “cute,” “honey,” or “hourglass.”

Abusing surveillance devices is against the law

The security company used by the Westfield Sydney shopping complex to protect its customers is called SecureCorp, A Current Affair Australian TV show says.

Usage of the surveillance cameras is regulated by strict policies and using them for other purposes than security is a violation of the law since the devices are also protected by legislation. An individual filming with a personal camera would not be breaking the law.

The management of the shopping mall has contacted the senior management of the security company demanding an explanation. SecureCorp has said that an investigation has been initiated and that the employees found to breach policies and procedures would face adequate consequences.

Westfield Sydney is one of the busiest malls in Australia and has a total of 30 security guards watching over the six floors of the complex, with some of them sitting in a control room monitoring the activity.

Guards have been doing this for years

A former security guard who worked for SecureCorp said that during his employment with the security company, the practice of filming female shoppers was quite common.

“Zooming in if girls were sitting down with short skirts, they'd zoom in between their legs,” he said, adding that the snapshots from CCTV footage would end up on storage media and that the guards would take the data home.

Apart from the creepiness of this practice, there is also the matter of privacy invasion, as the images could very well be shared on social networks or anonymous image boards.

A Current Affair reports that this has been happening for at least 18 months, but the former SecureCorp employee claims that it’s been going on for years.

CCTV abuse at Westfield Sydney mall (4 Images)

Women walking in the shopping center
Security guards would target attractive womenCategories for storing the women snapshots
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