Matthew Barber, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Thames Valley, and councils in Oxfordshire are at odds over the PCC’s latest phase of proposed police monitoring of formerly local government public space CCTV.
In the Thames Valley area as generally in England, councils own, and maintain public space cameras and and carry out monitoring; although the biggest ‘customer’ of footage is typically the police, as evidence in cases of crime. Hence Matthew Barber’s proposal to take over ownership and monitoring of CCTV in the force area. Phase one saw Slough (pictured) and Milton Keynes transfer their CCTV to the police, and Slough’s control room shut and the two areas are now monitored by police from Milton Keynes. The July 2024 edition of Professional Security Magazine reported on the work so far. Phase two was going to be something similar for Oxfordshire; but as Mr Barber has pointed out, only West Oxfordshire District Council (led by Liberal Democrats) has decided to take it up.
Matthew Barber said: โIt is disappointing the councils have not supported these plans. They are designed to improve public safety, and in the long run save councils money. I have ensured there is significant investment from the police, but without the support of councils, we simply will not be able to go ahead.
โI want to see CCTV in our communities protected and improved, but I am also committed to ensure the police have the resources they need on the ground. With real-terms cuts coming from the government and the need to set the force budget early in the new year, if there is no agreement the money will need to be allocated to support operational policing locally.โ
Response
Liberal Democrat councillor Georgina Heritage, Cabinet Member for Communities at South Oxfordshire District Council, said South Oxfordshire remained in active and positive discussion with PCC officials on the details of the scheme. She said: “Our Cabinet has agreed in principle, and we have been, like the other councils, working in private to negotiate โ in good faith โ the best deal for our area.
โSuggestions we have turned down โยฃ60,000โฒ are wildly incorrect. This figure is a one-year discount, after which the councils involved would be asked to contribute up to ยฃ90,000 per year to the scheme. Through our successful Community Safety Partnership with TVP and the Vale, we already run a highly effective local CCTV system and have recently invested money into upgrading town centre cameras as part of a scheme totalling ยฃ160,000 of improvements. It has to be acknowledged that whilst the hub will bring us many benefits, building on our current investments, it is not without significant ongoing costs for the councils involved.”
Meanwhile Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, also a Liberal Democrat, said:ย ย โWe were very surprised to see headlines suggesting councils had turned down funding โ nobody has done anything of the sort, in fact weโve been in open and constructive dialogue to find a positive and workable outcome to the PCCโs approach to local councils on CCTV funding.
โWe have always worked closely and collaboratively in direct partnership with TVP on community safety initiatives, directly funding a joint partnership arrangement. That work includes operating a local CCTV centre, with cameras recently receiving a significant upgrade thanks to the partnership.
โOur aim, like most of the other councils involved,ย is toย meet our bestย value duty onย our liabilities for costsย elsewhere, protectย our staff and ultimately find a consensus that works for all โ which is all part of a standard contract negotiation process. It speaks volumes that of the seven councils involved, only one has signed up, and so it is not unreasonable to conclude we all haveย legitimate concerns that need to be addressed before contracts are signed.โ
Abolished
As featured in the December edition of Professional Security Magazine, Labour has announced that PCCs will be abolished by 2028, when they are next due to be elected in a four-year cycle. The job of oversight of police forces would go to elected mayors as already done in cities such as Manchester. In the Thames Valley, councils are looking at a mayoral strategic authority (MSA) for the region, a new combined authority made up of a number of council areas, which would be led by a directly elected mayor.
Photo by Mark Rowe; Slough town centre, 2024.
