Agenda item

This is a report to update on progress made against a number of recommendations for the Council Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Service. These recommendations were set by the Scrutiny Committee CCTV Task Group in their report published November 2015.

Councillor Pavey (Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities) introduced the report updating the committee on the progress made against the recommendations of the Scrutiny CCTV Task Group. Members heard that all of the recommendations had either been completed or were in progress. In line with the second recommendation, Councillor Pavey confirmed the council’s commitment to maintaining a public network of CCTV cameras in the borough and advised that proposals were in development to secure major investment in the service enabling costs to be lowered and quality to be enhanced. 

Drawing the committee’s attention to Appendix 1 to the report, Karina Wane (Head of Community Protection) advised that of the twenty-one recommendations made, eighteen had already been implemented. Work was underway with regard to the remaining recommendations, 7, 9 and 11. Addressing each of these in turn, Karina Wane explained that the Home Office was currently undertaking work in relation to a CCTV benchmarking system. The Brent CCTV service had discussed a benchmarking system with other local authorities but had received an unenthusiastic response due to a lack of overlap of borough priorities and key hotspot areas.  The CCTV team did have a list of community and residents groups for the purpose of communicating changes but work would be pursued with the Head of Strategy and Partnerships to develop a council-wide list. The value of using site visits to help maintain the local knowledge of CCTV operators was acknowledged and would be taken forward, though was currently limited by staffing capacity.

Members subsequently discussed the possibility of hosting an open-day to raise awareness of the CCTV service, to provide reassurance to residents and to deter criminal activity. Officers agreed that this would offer public insight into the work of the service and suggested that this could be held in partnership with the police. Karina Wane agreed to explore the practicalities of this proposal and report the outcome of this back to the committee.

The committee discussed possible sources of funding for the service, questioning the contribution of the Football Association and whether greater funds could be obtained from section 106 monies and the Community Infrastructure Levies, particularly in view of the large regeneration projects underway in the borough. Further information  was sought regarding potential capital investment and the funding of additional staff hours. It was queried whether upgrading to a more modern system would allow opportunities for income generation. A member noted the high cost of moving CCTV cameras currently and highlighted the importance of addressing this need in the procurement of new equipment. The use of section 106 agreements and the role of the planning service in requiring CCTV installation in developments was queried and the committee sought additional information on work with other CCTV providers in the borough to extend the council’s network. A member further queried whether the council had a full list of all CCTV providers in the borough. An assessment of the current performance measurement activity of the service was requested.

In response, Karina Wane explained that proposals had been submitted to the Capital Investment Board and it was hoped that  a decision regarding capital investment would be made before the end of the calendar year. If this investment was secured, the current system could be upgraded thereby increasing the potential for income generation and consequently, staffing. The Football Association had historically contributed a capital sum towards the CCTV infrastructure in Wembley via Section 106 monies and so was an unlikely source of further income. A Partner Lunch was planned, to which the FA along with other significant organisations such as the Police, Transport for London and Social Landlords had been invited, to discuss joint working opportunities. Councillor Pavey advised that there was a strong case for Cabinet to give greater recognition to CCTV as a priority for Section 106 funds when this was next considered. It was acknowledged that many modern developments had a level of CCTV and Karina Wane advised that the service had a good picture of CCTV providers in Brent, particularly Social Landlords. Alvin Wakeman (Control Room Manager) advised that performance measuring activity was conducted and members’ guidance on how this could be enhanced would be sought.

RESOLVED:

    (i)        that the Head of Community Protection explore the viability of a CCTV open day and update the committee on the outcome of this action.

  (ii)        that the Head of Community Protection explore the potential for securing additional capital investment for the CCTV service.