PC compatible CCTV can deter petty crime and vandalism
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A police campaign to tackle four key areas of anti-social behaviour has resulted in a drop-off in crime by up to 20%. Operation LASER began in June 2009 in Scotland to enhance front line resources to combat vandalism, public space disorder, the proxy sale of alcohol to those underage and low level drug misuse. Officers who work in non-operational roles are now each committed to providing resource support six weekends per year. The numbers added to the existing Community Officers allows the service to provide a greater presence on the street. This drive was based on co-operation and information from the public, who liaised with patrolling officers, and resulted in a thumbs-up from the community.
CCTV is a key way to monitor, deter and fight petty incidents of vandalism and public disorder. We are experienced in the installation and maintenance of both large and small CCTV systems to suit any wallet, home or business. An unlimited number of CCTV cameras can be connected to your network, each of which can be viewed through a local PC. You can be assured that your CCTV system will surpass your expectations – contact our sales team via this link.
CCTV could help tackle break-in hotspots in towns or cities. A case in point is Edinburgh, with housebreakings increasing to a total of 1,625 from 1,423 in the past year. Meanwhile, bike thefts rose by 18 per cent as thieves made off with 1,705 cycles during the 12 month period. Lib Dem councillor Louise Lang, who represents Leith Walk, welcomed the area’s 20 per cent drop in crime, though it maintains the unwanted position as the city’s break-in hotspot. She said: "Obviously housebreaking remains an issue for us and a big part of that may be down to the large volume of tenement properties in the area.”
Putting up CCTV surveillance is one of the conditions imposed upon councillors approving a new unmanned railway station in Leeds. The proposed station borders the cleared Kirkstall Forge development site, which has outline permission to build offices, 1,000 homes, leisure, retail units and bar/restaurants. An agreement includes a £4 million payment to help deliver the station. Others say the station has inadequate access from Kirkstall and Bramley. Councillors are recommended to approve the application, subject to a number of conditions including a time limit of five years, details of signalised junction to Abbey Road, CCTV system and bus/taxi lay-by and drop off area to be submitted prior to development.
Plastic bags will be put over Birmingham’s so-called ‘terror cameras’. After objections from local people, scores of surveillance cameras in parts of the Second City with large Muslim populations will be covered up. Safer Birmingham Partnerships (SBP, a partnership of the police, the city council and other agencies) said 218 cameras had been installed. The cameras were financed through a counter-terrorism fund, but the SBP said they would tackle all crime. The cameras will not be used until consultation has been carried out.
Police in Hampshire bizarrely were called in to guard an unlocked high street bank during a weekend. Officers were called to the HSBC branch in Tadley, between Newbury and Basingstoke, on a Saturday after a member of the public arrived to find the door open, but no staff inside. Police guarded the bank until the keyholder arrived. They said everything inside the branch appeared to be in order and nothing had been taken. A spokesman for HSBC said it was not clear whether the bank had been left open all night. "It’s hard to say how long the door was open – but unlikely it was open all night," he said.
CCTV technology has helped to ward off a daring night raid and has already led to an arrest. Police from the Cheshire area were alerted by CCTV operators and caught up with a gang (who raided a haulage firm) who had met up in a car park near Ellesmere Port, on Merseyside, just before 1.30 in the morning. One man was later arrested by officers.
A brief local television news item demonstrated that unasserted facts are flying around concerning CCTV cameras. The feature, broadcast from the Midlands, repeated often-stated but rarely checked statistics like there are four and a half million cameras in total; and that there is one camera for about every 15 people in the United Kingdom. On the former point – since no official body has in fact counted them, we just do not know.