‘CCTV cameras won’t cut crime if no one is monitoring them’ (From Echo)

‘CCTV cameras won’t cut crime if no one is monitoring them’

11:40am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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MORE CCTV operators are needed to prevent crime in Southend town centre, residents have said.

Concern has been raised there are just two people in the control centre monitoring the 300 high-tech cameras. The operators home the cameras in on fights, vandalism, and stabbings as they take place, to allow police to get a better picture of the suspects.

Residents on the Milton Ward Neighbourhood Action Panel called for more operators to be employed to keep a track of trouble on Friday and Saturday nights. They believe this would help the police solve crimes in the town centre.

But police and the council have said the cameras are still recording and there are always two people in the control centre at any one time.

Andrew Turner, who runs Broadway Presentations, in Southchurch Road, said: “Two people to operate 300 cameras is not enough. If you’re going to have cameras in the town, you’ve got to have people to operate them. My suggestion was to get part-time policemen or people on work experience.”

He is now drafting a letter on behalf of the panel to put to Southend Council, calling for more operators.

But Jonathan Garston, Tory councillor for Milton ward, said it was possible for police to look back over the CCTV while investigating a crime.

He said: “Although you’ve got two operators there, the majority of the data is recorded so we can look back.”

The problem is only a CCTV operator can swing the camera round at the time to record the crime taking place.

PC Stan Ferris, neighbourhood specialist officer for the ward, said: “If a member of the public sees something, we want that phoned in so the operators can utilise the camera closest to that location. You could put a lot of people in there, and that would be helpful. But, at the end of the day, the public are our eyes and ears. There may be several cameras in that location which aren’t being viewed by the operators at the time, but if that’s phoned in by somebody the operator will switch round.”