We regularly feature local government CCTV; examples of investment and de-investment. Cornwall as featured in the spring, has public space CCTV in doubt after the county council pulled out of monitoring numerous towns’ cameras. What of another south west county, Somerset?
Somerset Council began in April. As a unitary council it brings together the services previously provided by four district councils in the county (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset) alongside the county council. What of the public space surveillance? The unitary council has a control room at Bridgwater House, in Bridgwater. It monitors 233 public space CCTV cameras, mostly in Bridgwater and the county town of Taunton; besides Yeovil, Wells and Frome (which has ten cameras) and single figure numbers of cameras in the small towns of Shepton Mallet, Glastonbury, Wellington, Street, Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea.
As for making ends meet, the council is looking to make the service as self-sufficient financially as it can; partly by taking on work outside the council; it reports it’s working with the YMCA Dulverton Group, Clarks Village and Bridgwater and Taunton College to take over the full-time monitoring of their CCTV systems for a monthly fee; and the council monitors the alarms of several businesses in Bridgwater such as Showcase and Nandos; and the out of town shopping destination Clarks Village in Street. The council also looks on the pub and shop business radio link scheme as a source of funding; the council charges a member £25 per month and is looking for more. Over the last nine years, Avon and Somerset Police have paid a flat fee of £10,000 for the council produce copies of video evidence. After discussions with Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Mark Shelford and numerous neighbourhood police inspectors, this has gone up to £20,000 as of April, the council reports.
Another sign of how councils generally are looking to PCCs as a source of funding, Somerset Council is bringing in Chard and Crewkerne CCTV, and the CCTV network of West Somerset (covering Minehead, Williton and Watchet), to the Bridgewater control room thanks to PCC funding. Somerset is, with EDF the operator of Hinkley Point, the nuclear power station station near Bridgewater, to place three CCTV cameras in Brean, the seaside village north of Burnham, which houses many workers building the HPC reactors.
Weston-super-Mare meanwhile is having eight more CCTV cameras costing £28k and paid for by Weston-based North Somerset Council and Avon & Somerset Police.
The council and police stress that locations for the cameras were targeted, based on intelligence from the police’s local beat team, crime statistics, and reports to StreetSafe about where people feel unsafe. The eight are being installed in five locations in South Ward:
– Winterstoke Road – two cameras on the Lidl roundabout that connects Winterstoke Road to The Runway, Haywood Village.
– St John’s Park – a camera covering the car park, footpaths and railway crossing.
– Ullswater Close – a camera covering the park, play area and key local footpaths.
– Junction of Selworthy Road and St Ives Road – two cameras as a panoramic view to include key local footpaths.
-Lonsdale Avenue – two cameras covering the For All Healthy Living Centre and surrounds and footpaths.
That will give North Somerset 425 cameras, monitored 24-365 at North Somerset Council’s emergency control centre at Weston town hall, pictured; last featured in the August 2021 print edition of Professional Security Magazine.
Operators have radio contact with the police, council enforcement officers, businesses and street wardens. They also deal with emergency out-of-hours calls to the council, lone worker monitoring and provide a dedicated operator for the night-time Carelink service.
Councillor James Clayton is the council’s executive member for safety in the community and local ward member for South Ward. He said: “Our emergency control centre plays a vital part of the council’s proactive approach to cracking down on local crime and keeping North Somerset safe.
“I’d like to thank Avon & Somerset Police for their generous funding which enabled this project to happen. This investment will help to reduce offending, while also improving the feeling of safety through the use of CCTV.”
Inspector Graeme Hall of Avon and Somerset Police said: “The information we gather from calls from the public, along with data from StreetSafe, has played a key role in identifying where these should be located. I’d encourage people to continue to share any concerns they have about specific locations. This information enables us to build a picture of where and why people feel unsafe in certain areas so we can work with North Somerset, and other partners, on solutions like CCTV, better lighting or increased patrols.”
