Agenda item

Officer: Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: Yes

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.    Approve Growth Zone funding of £1M in 2020-21 for this CCTV Upgrade Project;

2.    Note change in infrastructure to enable system upgrade for growth, capability and capacity to capture future requirements in urban spaces in line with council requirements; and

3.    Note consultation comments: A Public Consultation in accordance with the statutory requirements was undertaken following on from a public consultation exercise from 24th June to 4th August 2019. To upgrade the infrastructure the Council has reviewed recent crime patterns and feedback from the public consultation. The evidence base will inform the methodology for siting of new and replacement cameras to ensure they are placed where they are need to meet these objectives.

The Deputy Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities presented the report and thanked the Director of the Violence Reduction Unit and the CCTV & Intelligence Hub Manager for their work in developing the piece of work around the CCTV upgrade project.

The Deputy Cabinet Member noted that the report sought the upgrade of hardware and software for the CCTV network in Croydon which consisted of 96 fixed and ten mobile cameras. The proposed upgrade, it was noted, would be the first major upgrade of the network since the 1990s and would support the key priorities of a safer Croydon as the CCTV network supported intelligence based responses to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

Members were informed that the consultation on the proposals was undertaken in line with Home Office guidance and that young people were also consulted. Additionally an Equality Impact Assessment had been completed, an analysis of which was included as an appendix to the report. Following the consultation the Deputy Cabinet Member stated that the council were satisfied that the majority of consultation responders supported the CCTV upgrade.

The Director of the Violence Reduction Unit confirmed that the council had consulted widely on the proposals and that residents supported the use of CCTV as it was a tool to combat crime but also made them feel safer. Members were further informed that the upgrade would support other council priorities also as it was possible to install air quality monitors to the cameras.

Members thanked officers for the report and supported the CCTV network being upgraded as it was noted that a number of vulnerable residents felt at risk visiting the town centre and it was hoped the upgrade would help alleviate any concerns residents had. Additionally, it was noted that previously the quality of CCTV images had not been of a sufficient quality to aid investigations and that it was welcomed that new CCTV cameras would remove this concern.

In response to Member questions, the Deputy Cabinet Member stated that CCTV was not the panacea to all issues but a tool to help combat crime and anti-social behaviour. It was important that the council supported and worked with the police to alleviate problems and spot possible issues, through the monitoring of CCTV images, before they occurred.

Councillor Bernadette Khan left at 19.15.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.     Approve Growth Zone funding of £1M in 2020-21 for this CCTV Upgrade Project;

2.     Note change in infrastructure to enable system upgrade for growth, capability and capacity to capture future requirements in urban spaces in line with council requirements; and

3.     Note consultation comments: A Public Consultation in accordance with the statutory requirements was undertaken following on from a public consultation exercise from 24th June to 4th August 2019. To upgrade the infrastructure the Council has reviewed recent crime patterns and feedback from the public consultation. The evidence base will inform the methodology for siting of new and replacement cameras to ensure they are placed where they are need to meet these objectives.