Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is running a CCTV funding scheme.She’s making £125,000 available in 2025/26 from the Strategic Interventions Fund.
Alison Hernandez said: “The key priorities I have set out in my Police and Crime Plan are reducing anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol, serious violence and theft. Funding CCTV helps towards achieving all these aims. This scheme is specifically targeting towns and villages across the peninsula to support local communities to fund additional CCTV capacity as part of their efforts to combat the devastating widespread impact of crime. It can be used for new CCTV installations and to upgrade CCTV systems already in place.
“I urge councils or equivalent organisations to submit bids for a share of the funding because CCTV is such an effective tool in helping prevent and detect crime as well as offering reassurance to residents and businesses.”
Background
In 2023, Cornwall County Council did away with the central monitoring of 13 Cornish towns and villages’ public space CCTV (notably the county town Truro; Penzance and Falmouth), as done by the fire service (unusually) at fire service headquarters at Tolvaddon near Redruth. In January, a West Cornwall CCTV Partnership was launched by St Ives Town Council, Penzance Council and Hayle Town Council, for monitoring of up to 40 cameras in the three town centres from a control centre in St Ives; as fitted out by Infinitus Security Ltd.
What next
Applicants will be required to detail any current CCTV installation; plans for new installation or upgrades, including monitoring arrangements; a timeline for the funding to be used; the location of the CCTV and who will benefit from it. Only one application from a town or parish council will be considered. The PCC stresses it will not be responsible for CCTV maintenance or monitoring costs and the local council will need to be the primary funder of its CCTV. Expressions of Interest must be sent by Friday, October 24 and applicants will be notified of the outcome of a decision-making panel by the end of November.
Photo by Mark Rowe: public space camera near Truro Cathedral.
