SPYING on child minders with video cameras is becoming increasingly popular in Britain and North America following a string of well-publicised cases of nannies abusing their charges.
The first reported cases of spying occurred in 1997 after the Boston trial of British au pair Louise Woodward, who was convicted of manslaughter of an infant in her care and sent back to England.
Scared that a carer could also be a killer, parents across the United States started installing video cameras, some hidden, to see what happened when they were out of the house.
When the cameras caught abuse, some families simply sacked their nannies, while others went to the police or gave the videotapes to TV stations to warn others.
Demand for video equipment has spawned companies calling themselves Know Your Nanny, Nanny Watch and Babywatch to rent or sell the cameras for installation in a child's bedroom or living room.
When families called police in, officers sometimes showed the nannies the videos, convincing them to confess to mistreatment when they were arrested.
But the use of the videotapes as evidence in court has raised questions in the US, which has strict laws against wire-tapping.
