Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 19^th July, 2017 be received and approved as a correct record.

The Chairman introduced the item and advised the Panel that a review of CCTV had been added to the Scrutiny Workplan following a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 10^th September, 2017.  It was agreed that the purpose of the review would be to gain an understanding of CCTV, how it contributes to the Council’s corporate priorities and what impact they may have within the community. To assist with the review, the Council’s Interim Community Protection Manager was in attendance at the meeting.

The Scrutiny Manager advised Members that the meeting would enable them to scope the topic and decide on the length and breadth of the review. 

Councillor Wilson took the opportunity to comment that he had taken part in the first scrutiny review of CCTV which had taken place around 9 years’ previously.  He extolled the benefits of undertaking a site visit to the CCTV control room at an early stage in the review which he believed enhanced Member’s insight into the topic and greatly informed the direction of the review and its possible outcomes.

The Council’s Interim Community Protection Manager advised the Panel that the new shared Police control room had recently opened.  It was now located at the Police Headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, Hucknall following the sale of Kelham Hall by Newark and Sherwood District Council where it was previously located.  The new base had been equipped with all the latest technology and the formal launch of the control room would be taking place within the next few weeks.

Whilst speaking, the Interim Community Protection Manager took the opportunity to inform Members about his background as a Police Chief Superintendent with the Nottinghamshire Police Force and his knowledge of the benefits and challenges of CCTV provision.

Ashfield District Council currently owned 29 wireless cameras with 2 of them being the more mobile (rapidly deployable) versions for use at hotspot locations.  The cameras were fixed across the District’s 3 town centres and other key locations i.e. parks and were monitored 24 hours a day, all year round.

The CCTV provision in Ashfield was part of a collaborative arrangement with Newark and Sherwood District Council and Broxtowe Borough Council. Nottinghamshire Police were also a stakeholder and had direct access to the images as required.  A company called Profile Security currently undertook the monitoring and storage of the CCTV images and provided the stakeholders with regular performance and operational data as necessary.

CCTV use nationally was increasing both in the private sector and for personal use.  Increasing camera presence promoted community safety and went a long way towards reducing the fear of crime.  The 29 cameras provided by Ashfield District Council was a relatively small amount compared to the 79 cameras provided by Newark and Sherwood District Council and the 63 provided by Broxtowe Borough Council, however this was reflected in the cost of providing the service with Ashfield District Council paying a proportional contribution to the agreement of 17%. 

From a policing perspective, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.