A council in the West Midlands is trialling a wireless system to tackle fly-tipping.
Some councils seeking to combat illegal dumping have installed hard-wired CCTV but only in a limited number of places. Coleshill-based BOX telematics has produced a covert system that can be fitted anywhere without a wired connection – and can be made to blend in with surroundings, making it difficult for fly tippers to detect. The link from secureBOX is then made to an alarm receiving centre, a laptop or even a mobile phone where alarms can be immediately sent. Alarm events are captured on CCTV and recorded in digital quality locally – customers, security firms and police can also remotely view the alarm event in real time across a mobile phone network connection – making each event verifiable so the necessary and immediate action can be taken, the makers report. It is possible to set a threshold barrier around the selected space, known as a geo-fence, and when that is broken, an alarm will be sent in a few seconds across mobile phone networks. Mike Langley, sales and marketing director at BOX telematics, said: “Not only does the system have the capability of running on a battery, without mains power, but it can also be either purchased, or rented to suit each customer’s requirements. Rentals can be from as little as a month or a full year all depending on the application.”
