CCTV centre putting police in the picture

The Express & Star was given a behind-the-scenes look in the camera room in Dudley, which has been instrumental in finding missing children, catching criminals and identifying troublemakers.

Councils across Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell also have similar units on their patches.

Staff on the unit link-in with police and security guards across the Dudley borough to alert them to incidents as they happen.

And within an hour of being in the unit, the advantages of the 177 cameras, which are of such high quality that they can read a tax disc on a car from 200 yards, are clear.

One man was detained by security staff in Stourbridge bus station just 90 seconds after allegedly stealing goods from a nearby store.

Meanwhile in Dudley, a man was arrested in Churchill Precinct after someone was spotted loading £95 worth of chocolate into a shopping basket and making off.

Elsewhere, a woman was assaulted by a female customer in Dudley's Iceland store. CCTV operators were able to find the suspected attacker and traced her to nearby Birmingham Street, where she was arrested on suspicion of assault.

And during the early hours of Tuesday, a man was arrested and charged after he was caught on camera allegedly breaking into a staff room at Dudley bus station.

Sgt Rob Simpson said having links to the unit, which is run and maintained by Dudley Borough Council, was vital.

"The cameras are invaluable. If you take the example of a missing child, you can flood an area the child was last seen with officers but camera can search that area much more quickly," he said. "The cameras are not hidden so people can see where they are. It isn't about watching people, the cameras are there for the prevention of crime."

Experts say the cameras have played an integral part in fighting crime, including help track people who caused trouble during the English Defence League protest in Dudley in 2010. Detectives were able to review the footage after the violence and identify those involved, pinpoint what they had done and then move to make arrests.

CCTV operative Dave Sneyd, who has been in the job for 12 years, said as well as the serious side of his work, there are moments of humour.

"Christmas can provide entertaining CCTV viewing. I've seen tugs-of-war over presents and a man's wig was pulled off in one scuffle," he said.

"One man walked into a speed camera along the Stourbridge Ring Road and knocked himself. That was serious because he had fallen and his head was on the road, so we quickly got someone down there to help him." The emergence of digital technology has helped improve the quality of CCTV over the past five years.

Previously, footage was recorded on VCR with a tape-change every 12 hours meaning. footage of a particular incident could not be looked at until the 12-hour loop was complete. But now, footage is recorded digitally, so officers can review it immediately.

Sgt Simpson said the quality of footage had also improved dramatically making it difficult for offenders to wriggle out of crimes when the evidence was put in front of them.

CCTV manager Julie Jones added: "A picture speaks a thousand words."