Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection / Public Protection Manager (copy enclosed) to consult with members on a range of options for modernising, upgrading and improving the council’s CCTV and Out of Hours Contact Team.

9.35 a.m. – 10.05 a.m.

 

The Lead Member for Public Realm, Councillor David Smith, presented a report (previously circulated) to consult with Members on a range of options for modernising, upgrading and improving the Council’s CCTV and Out of Hours contact team.

 

Members had requested an update report on the progress that had been made with proposals to develop the Council’s CCTV and Out of Hours Calls function, following the meeting in April 2013.

 

The Head of Planning and Public Protection introduced the CCTV Supervisor and the Public Protection Manager.

 

16 possible options were listed within the confidential appendix to the report. 

 

The options were to ensure a CCTV service would continue to be delivered within a reduced budget.  The CCTV service running costs in 2010/11 were £341k but by 2014/15 the budget would be reduced to £228k. 

 

The feedback received from Members and also from Partners was that it was a good and valuable service, therefore, Denbighshire was attempting to deliver the service at either the same or even an improved level whilst making savings.  There was an opportunity to enhance the CCTV service and to run the service on a business footing. 

 

Currently, comprehensive CCTV services only existed in certain areas of the county with limited CCTV service available in other areas.

 

During the evenings and weekends, call centre calls were diverted to the Out of Hours Team in the CCTV control room as the operators had a dual role.

 

Within the options were a mix of ideas to enhance the service and to provide the service for towns who do not currently have CCTV.   Included in the options were proposals to approach Town Councils to seek their agreement to contribute towards the provision of these facilities.  Businesses were also to be approached with the business plan for Denbighshire to offer to set up CCTV on their premises which could generate funding for the Council, whilst offering protection to their business and premises.  Sponsorship of cameras was also under consideration.

 

RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the

Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

PART II

 

Following much discussion, the following points were raised:

 

·         The main users of the CCTV service were North Wales Police.  The contribution from the Police to each Local Authority was £18k.  This figure had been set some years previous.  The Police were reluctant to enter into negotiations over the payment either regionally or at a local authority level regarding any increased contribution.  One option would be that the police may be able to provide staff support to the CCTV such as Officers on “light duties” as a secondment.

·         Recommendation that a possible three year business plan be drawn up involving internal audit to turn the service into a profit base. 

·         Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the council had a duty to reduce crime and disorder in the area, but there was no statutory obligation to run a CCTV service.

·         The issue of the staffing structure of the CCTV service was raised due to the fact that two members of staff had left voluntarily and had not been replaced.  This had made a saving of approximately £50-60k.  Therefore, due to the decline in staff, the 24 hour rota had been extremely difficult to keep running.

·         Working in collaboration with Conwy County Borough Council had been one of the options within the appendix.  There could be a future option of co-operating with Conwy and sharing resources during quiet times.

·         Requesting a contribution from Town Councils brought further questions from Members.  Rhuddlan Town Council Member stated that Rhuddlan Town Council would be unable to finance the CCTV scheme. Perhaps a smaller contribution would be acceptable.  The cost would be approximately £250-£300 per camera per year.  There would be negotiations and discussions with all Town Councils regarding the financial aspect of the service. 

·         The opportunity to project manage the updating and enhancement of CCTV cameras in some towns could be considered.  The updated cameras would beam back images to the Rhyl Control Room, with a small annual fee charged for each camera.

·         The CCTV control room ensured activity was recorded and kept for up to 30 days.  The recordings were useful for a range of Council Services, the police and individuals in terms of providing clear evidence.  As the CCTV service was often asked for video footage to support a prosecution or individual action, a charging regime could be introduced for providing the recorded information on disc or electronically.

·         North Wales Police did not currently charge the Council rent for the use of the facilities within the Rhyl Police Station.  Denbighshire did however pay for the electricity used.

 

It was:

 

RESOLVED that:

 

·         subject to the above comments on the contents of the report, the Committee support the proposed initiatives and agree the need for Officers to undertake a detailed business case analysis on each of the proposals; and

·         that an update report on the progress attained in developing a business case be presented to the Committee  in six months.