Issue - meetings

To consider a report by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Communities and Environment) on the findings of a study on CCTV.

Recognised the high value of the Council’s CCTV service to Huntingdonshire’s residents, businesses and Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Recognised the need to review all options to reduce the operational costs of the CCTV service.

(Councillor T D Alban was in attendance for consideration of this item).

Pursuant to Minute No 16/38 of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Communities and Environment) held on 4th October 2016, with the aid of a report by the CCTV Task and Finish Group (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Cabinet was acquainted with the findings and final recommendations of the CCTV Task and Finish Group. Councillor T D Alban, Chairman of the Task and Finish Group, drew Executive Councillors’ attention to the importance businesses attached to CCTV, the difficulties in obtaining evidence to support the value of CCTV and the benefits of providing CCTV at events.

Following a question by an Executive Councillor on the role in the investigation of existing and potential new partners, it was confirmed that Town and Parish Council representatives had been involved. Comment was then made on the need:

·  for measures to improve public perception of CCTV;

·  to demonstrate to Town and Parish Councils the benefits of CCTV;

·  to be able to stream footage to police on the street, and

·  to discuss the value of CCTV with the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Having expressed their gratitude to Members of the Task and Finish Group and to Officers for their work on CCTV, it was

RESOLVED

a)  that the high value of the Council’s CCTV service to Huntingdonshire’s residents, businesses and Cambridgeshire Constabulary be recognised, and

b)  that the need to review all options to reduce the operational costs of the CCTV service be recognised.

Members are to receive the final report of the CCTV Task and Finish Group.

With the aid of a report by the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny), on behalf of the CCTV Task and Finish Group (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the CCTV Task and Finish Group Final Report was presented to the Panel.

In introducing the report the Chairman briefed Members on what the Task and Finish Group had done and thanked the Members of the Group and the Head of Community Services and Democratic Services Officers (Scrutiny) for arranging the meetings and assisting the Group in writing the report.

The Executive Councillor for Commercialisation and Shared Services explained to Members that a welcome but unintended consequence of the Task and Finish Group has been the improved communications with Parish and Town Councils. He added that big businesses have a matrix which they use when deciding to locate to a town and that CCTV scores highly on that matrix. In addition, Members were informed that some businesses would not be locating in the towns without CCTV.

The Executive Councillor for Commercialisation and Shared Services did explain to Members that there was a lack of quantitative evidence of how valuable and useful CCTV is to the Police. The Head of Community Services provided Members with some examples of where CCTV has made a positive difference in crime detection.

A Member suggested that recommendation one doesn’t go far enough and suggested that the word ‘high’ is inserted to recommendation so it reads “recognise the high value of the Council’s CCTV service to Huntingdonshire’s residents, businesses and Cambridgeshire Constabulary”. The Panel agreed with the amendment.

In response to the question is there a CCTV system which can automatically detect activity, the Panel was informed that certain cameras can automatically detect activity as they are located in areas where it is recognised that at certain times of the day there should be no activity, however as for detecting suspicious activity on the high street, the service is reliant on the skill of the operator.