Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council has extended its CCTV, bring the total camera count to more than 90 cameras.
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council has extended its CCTV, bring the total camera count to more than 90 cameras. The system covers mainly town centres, plus some residential surveillance in the Willenhall and Goscote areas. Extra cameras – external Photo-Scanners and pan and tilts, have been installed in the district centres of Willenhall, Darlaston, Brownhills and Caldmore, as the result of funding from the first CCTV Challenge Round of 1999. Nicki Egginton, Emergency Planning and CCTV Manager for the borough, said: ?Although a large part of our surveillance is crime related, typically town centre theft, the borough has been keen to encourage a positive attitude. As a result our operators regularly assist the general public by using the cameras for example to spot fires early and warn the fire brigade and as an aid in tracking lost children.? To accommodate the extra cameras and recording equipment, the borough has refurbished the control room. In addition, the previously independent CCTV operators have been transferred as directly employed personnel under TUPE (Transfer of Undertaking for Protection of Employment), with more staff recruited to ensure that there are two operators per shift with a third available at busy times. To qualify for Home Office funding, the borough had to show commitment by the community to maintain the on-going operational costs. Nicki Egginton added: ?The council carried out extensive consultations with local retailers and the general public. Their response was extremely favourable with a clear commitment from retailers and positive acceptance by residents and shoppers. Since the system was installed we have developed a close working partnership with the police who can assist with their specialist criminal knowledge. We have found that by promoting an exchange of our operators and police, both have a greater awareness of the tasks of each operational control room, which has engendered greater co-operation between the two.?
