Carlisle CCTV

New operational proposals put forward

(Date of issue: Thursday, 24 February 2011)

A consultation is now underway on how CCTV in Carlisle could be operated in the future.

Carlisle City Council has drawn together the proposed new arrangements and as now, the cameras would continue recording 24/7, but would be monitored by a CCTV operative, at key times.

Before putting forward the proposal, the council consulted with Cumbria Police and considered the key times that monitoring is required. This would ensure that support is available when it’s most needed, especially during peak times over Friday and Saturday nights.

Before any decisions are taken, the City Council is seeking views from key stakeholders including: Carlisle & Eden Crime and Disorder Partnership; The Lanes Shopping Centre, Retailers Against Crime; Riverside Carlisle; Cumbria County Council and Pubwatch. They have been asked to give their comments by Thursday, 31 March. Following the responses being received, a decision will then be taken early this summer.

A CCTV system has been in place in Carlisle since 1995 and includes 49 fully functioning PTZ (Pan, Tilt and Zoom) cameras and 13 static cameras. The control room has two separate CCTV video links to Cumbria Police (Carleton Hall and Durranhill), so the Police are able to view incidents directly and if required, can then download footage onto DVDs for evidential purposes.

County-wide, Carlisle is currently the only control room on council premises that is staffed 24/7. The other two 24/7 control rooms are located at the Cumbria Police HQs at Carleton Hall, Penrith and Workington, but these are call handling and dispatch centres with limited access to CCTV camera images.

The CCTV review in Carlisle looks at a series of alternative options which relate to the available budgets to fund the service. Although capital funding has been provided in the past to pay for cameras, the ongoing cost of monitoring and maintaining the CCTV camera system is met purely by Carlisle City Council. Longer term there may be an opportunity to explore a more collaborative approach across Cumbria that may secure CCTV provision for the County

Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment, said:

“We are working within tough economic times and all public services are being looked at to see how they are delivered in the future and how potential savings could be made. The CCTV service review is therefore not unique in this instance.

“CCTV is a discretionary service. The cost of the current service is in excess of £400,000 and is now running in excess of the budgetary provision available as a result of falling income levels. We appreciate the importance that the CCTV service provides, but a review of the finances is essential to ensure its longevity.

“Unless the beneficiaries of the CCTV control service are prepared to make an ongoing financial contribution, the service will have to be reduced to ‘balance the books’ and further savings may be required.

“Before any decisions are taken, we will continue to consult with key stakeholders. We may need to scale down to meet the hard economic times we are living and working in. However, we are working with partners to meet the priorities of the service. Partners input will be a key part of the decision-making process.”