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Proactive city centre CCTV
BSIA CCTV Section Chairman Pauline Norstrom argues why local authorities should reconsider cutting back on proactive CCTV monitoring

ImageThis type of precipitous action may, at first glance, deliver what appears to be attractive short term savings, however, the reality is that any budgetary benefit now is likely to be lost in the longer term. The withdrawal of CCTV operators, and reliance on reviewing recordings post event, will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the ability of town and city centre CCTV to actively deal with what can be serious incidents as they happen. 
 
No longer will the police, emergency services and other parties, such as retailers, receive the information they need to make timely crime prevention decisions and target their resources. Instead with CCTV cameras left unmonitored, and simply set-up to automatically pan around specific areas, not only will no intervention be possible at the time but any post-event review is likely to find that valuable elements of an incident will have been lost completely.

Positive results
A good example of what a proactive municipal CCTV solution can achieve, at a practical level comes from the recent experience of the capital city of Canada – Ottawa. Here the forward-thinking authorities have implemented a Proactive Audio-Video (PAV) surveillance solution – combining static and mobile elements – to protect the public park swimming pools and other areas from the safety and security issues caused by vandalism, drug use, drinking, graffiti and other inappropriate activities.
 
The Proactive Audio-Video (PAV) system uses motion-sensitive day/night dome cameras programmed to activate when an area is closed to the public. Any movement within a defined area triggers the motion detector, sending an alarm to the 24-hour Security Operations Centre, activating a loudspeaker, and starting a DVR recording. A real-time video feed to the city’s 24-hour operations centre enables security operators to assess the situation and verify the alarm before diverting first response personnel to take action. A loudspeaker system allows security to call the site and direct the person(s) to leave the area, informing them that they are under surveillance.
 
This advanced solution has resulted in a measurable reduction in the cost of vandalism – $700,000 in one year for 16 outdoor pools – and cost of ownership benefits from the flexible infrastructure. Given this success at eliminating graffiti and other problems, the city moved on to successfully install PAV systems in specific parks and national historic sites that were the scenes of illegal or undesirable night time activities.
 
More recently the Corporate Security team has taken the new Parks Protection Programme even further by adopting a mobile unit, that can be transported and placed temporarily in areas identified as potential “hotspots” for criminal activity and communicate wirelessly with the operations centre.
 
The upshot of the work in Ottawa is that they have been able to reduce vandalism and take back their parks, by fostering a sense of security on the part of the community and encouraging their participation and presence in the parks system.

Taking a national view of CCTV
When it comes to taking a more considered view of CCTV the new National CCTV Strategy in the UK, which is the culmination of work by a joint ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers)/Home Office team, has to be welcomed as an important step forward in developing an holistic approach to the specification, deployment and governance of this technology in all situations which involve public and private space surveillance.
 
The issues addressed within the Strategy include: the need for standards in all aspects of CCTV; the need for clear guidelines on registration, inspection and enforcement; training of all personnel; the Police use of CCTV footage and evidence; storage/volume/archiving/retention issues; the need for CCTV networks live and stored; equipping, resourcing and standardisation within the Criminal Justice System; emerging technologies/changing threats/new and changing priorities; partnership working and financial and resource management.
 
It is vital that local authorities in the UK review the National CCTV Strategy and pay close attention to its implementation by the National Strategy Programme Board on which the BSIA is represented. The National CCTV Strategy document can be found online at www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/cctv/cctv048.htm.

The Bigger Picture
Turning back to the proposed council cutbacks in the UK, I would hope that common sense will prevail and we will not see local authorities on this side of the Atlantic embarking on what would be very much a retrograde step for town centre safety and security. Surely it is foolhardy to have invested in 21st century CCTV technology and then by removing a key element – the CCTV operator – to end up with a solution which is in many ways inferior to that which they would have been operating 10 or 20 years ago. The necessity of being able to take proactive action regarding incidents in the here and now, rather than simply reviewing images after the real damage has been done, cannot be overstated.
 
The British Security Industry Association is the trade association covering all aspects of the professional security industry in the UK. Its members provide over 70 per cebt of UK security products and services and adhere to strict quality standards. 

For more information
See www.bsia.co.uk, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 0845 389 3889.

 
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