To inform Members of the current financial and operational position of the Herefordshire CCTV system.

Members were informed of the current financial and operational position of the Herefordshire Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system.

The Chairman welcomed Debbie Stringer, CCTV Officer and Inspector Peter Gebbie, West Mercia Police, to the meeting.

Before the meeting Members of the Committee had visited the Herefordshire CCTV Control Room based at the Shirehall.  The Control Room opened in June 2003 and it is operated by Remploy Managed Services who monitor 35 cameras in Hereford, Leominster, Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye.

The CCTV operation costs a total of £187,000 a year to run.  Funding is provided from Herefordshire Council and appropriate Town Councils, including Hereford City Council, and the Police.  This funding allows the CCTV Control Room to be staffed from 8.00a.m. - 1.00a.m. Monday-Thursday and 8.00a.m.-3.00a.m. Friday and Saturday. The CCTV Officer was currently investigating additional revenue streams which could increase the number of hours for when the Control Room was staffed.  It was noted that revenue opportunities could be increased if the CCTV Control Room was staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

The following are the principal points from the ensuing discussion:

·         Known shoplifters were identified on entering the City each day and designated a number which was then used to communicate with shops and Police as it was illegal to give names over the radio.

·         Only traffic problems above the normally expected levels were recorded.

·         It was difficult to compare incidence figures nationally as each control room had its own individual way of recording incidents.  The Public CCTV Managers Association was beginning to develop a national framework.  The categories used in Herefordshire had been drawn up with the help of the Police.

·         CCTV funding and provision was considered to be piecemeal.

·         It was acknowledged that Control Room operation could be improved by increasing the number of hours it was open and by employing additional staff at known peak times.

·         Herefordshire were the only division in the force which contributed financially to the cost of operating a CCTV monitoring system.

·         The Police asked the CCTV Control Room to alert them to incidents as and when they happened.  The Police would either then deploy officers to the scene or ask the incident to be monitored and to be up dated on the situation when it changed.

·         The Police also use the CCTV Control Room to carry out checks on incidents to provide evidence to Officers on the scene.

·         New Police Officers were not made aware of CCTV Camera locations as a part of their induction but it was something that they soon picked up whilst on duty.

·         Enquire’s to the Crown Prosecution Service had revealed that there was no qualitative data available to evaluate the success of CCTV images in gaining successful prosecutions.    Although Inspector Gebbie was able to add that CCTV images did help secure prosecutions and admissions of guilt.

·         Additional funding had recently been secured through Section 106 agreements through the planning process which had seen recent city centre developments in Hereford approved with a condition that one off funding is provided towards CCTV provision.

·         It was suggested that funding may also be forthcoming from businesses at Rotherwas and Belmont Road, Hereford and through licensees operating under the Herefordshire Against Night time Disorder (HAND) Scheme as well as through the various departments at Herefordshire Council.

The Chairman thanked the CCTV Officer and Inspector Gebbie for attending the meeting and invited them back to a future meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.