CCTV Must Provide Value For Money

5.15.35pm GMT Fri 10th Mar 2006

Does CCTV provide value for money?

CCTV is watching you - but does it pay for its keep? Does it do a good job? Lib Dems are now asking if the close watch on our streets actually does deter or detect crime and unsociable behaviour.

There are 18 council-owned cameras watching the streets of Malvern. A first batch was put in place in Great Malvern during 1997/8. MHDC under a Tory administration put in place a second batch by April 2003, with some in Malvern Link and Barnards Green. All installation costs were by Government grant with contributions from West Mercia Constabulary and Waitrose.

Malvern Hills District is a low crime area. Our District 'hot spots', in national terms, are not in the top 25% most crime-plagued areas in England.

But council tax payers are paying out for the huge running and maintenance costs and for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week live CCTV monitoring - just for business areas in Malvern.

Lib Dems do not want to get rid of existing CCTV even though, at times, it seems not to have worked very well - getting rid of it would be a backward step! But maintenance costs will surely rise as the "eye-in-the-sky" system gets older. We are working to find a way of cutting CCTV costs, while providing a service that reassures local people and businesses that our streets are safe.