C.C.T.V. - System Effectiveness

A review has been undertaken for the last operating year 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009 that looked at the effectiveness of both CCTV and the Community Radio system.

Camera effectiveness can be judged by a number of criteria. Although while monitoring some incidents a large number of cameras may be used, the simplest way to judge whether a camera has been placed correctly and is still effective is to record how many times it is used as a primary or secondary camera during an incident or event. All operating cameras within the CCTV system have been used either as primary or secondary sources.

During the year, seven new cameras came on line at Wraysbury, Bray, Maidenhead and Eton Wick. Also work to change the recording system from analogue to digital was started.

The results and conclusions of the review are as follows: (Previous years figures in brackets)

• 4840 (5178) incidents were dealt with by control room.

• 1807 (1727) of these incidents commenced with information from the Community Radio system.

• 825 (781) persons were taken into police custody due to the assistance of CCTV and Community Radio.

• 383 (316) of those arrests resulted from information first circulated on the Community Radio.

• 2006 (1820) visits were made to the Control Room. The majority of these visits were made by police officers, both local and national, for the purpose of investigating offences.

• 709 (735) video tapes were viewed by control room staff or members of investigatory bodies, in connection with the investigation of offences.

• 728 (643) video tapes containing evidential matters were retained for court proceedings.

• 164 (232) video stills were produced for evidence or intelligence purposes.

• 216 (212) Community Radios in use.

• 3 (0) Surveillance operations carried out as authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)

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