Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Officer Resources (SIRO for CCTV) Head of Community Services and Head of Governance and Partnerships which was presented to provide a position statement on the Council’s new overt CCTV system.

The Head of Governance & Partnerships spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein which included that the Council now operated a ‘record only’ system.

In response to a Member’s enquiry regarding the location of cameras, the Chief Officer Resources said that consultation had been undertaken with Gwent Police on camera locations with a focus on town centres based on evidence of crime and anti-social behaviour and locations would be reviewed annually.  Cameras could be relocated if necessary and would need to have a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) in place to evidence that the camera was needed in relation to crime prevention and appropriate signage would also need to be visible. 

A Member enquired regarding the timeframe for downloading data. The Service Manager, Policy & Partnerships explained that the new system used digital technology with new high definition cameras utilising wireless technology and, as yet, there had been no significant delays in downloading footage to accommodate police requests.

A Member enquired if plans were in place for Gwent Police to have direct access to download footage.  The Chief Officer Resources said that discussion between the police and SRS partners was ongoing but no decision had yet been made.

In response to a Member’s enquiry regarding the number of CCTV cameras, the Head of Governance & Partnerships clarified that currently there were 53 CCTV cameras installed throughout the county borough with four deployable cameras to use for crime hot spots.  The original number of cameras agreed in the Council report in 2018 had been 32.  The increase was due to on-site surveys and the pre-tender design process which identified technical restrictions associated with wireless transmission, site lines at specific locations and camera fields of view to ensure effective coverage. 

A Member commented that CCTV helped identify crime and disorder across the local areas as the images were of good quality.  The Member requested that a Members briefing session be held for further updates and the police be invited to attend to highlight the number of prosecutions made.

The Head of Governance & Partnerships supported this view as it was important to have police involvement at the briefing session due to their work within the communities of Blaenau Gwent.

The Committee AGREED this course of action.

The Chief Officer Resources reaffirmed to Members that the police had been consulted regarding the location of the cameras and a review could be undertaken to check if locations were still appropriate or if some cameras needed to be relocated for better coverage to ensure communities are kept safe.

The Chair enquired if funding had been received from Gwent Police.  The Chief Officer Resources said that no funding had been received as yet.

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and endorse Option 2, namely that Committee:

•              Considered and provided comment on the position statement on the overt CCTV function;

•              Included the draft Policy and Strategy Framework for CCTV on their forward work programme prior to it being presented to Executive for endorsement; and

•              Receives the annual monitoring report.