Cabinet chiefs give green light to spend up to £45,000 to upgrade CCTV
A proposed upgrade of a CCTV transmission system in Cannock town centre is set to save a council money as well as future-proofing the service.
Cannock Chase Council’s cabinet has given the green light to spend up to £45,000 on the conversion to a wireless transmission system.
The authority manages, maintains and monitors 98 CCTV public space surveillance cameras across the district. These include 18 in Cannock town centre, of which 11 currently operate on BT circuits.
A report to the latest cabinet meeting said: “Nine of these circuits in Cannock Town Centre have been identified as being suitable for wireless conversion. The conversion would future proof the service technologically.
“Eight of the nine highlighted BT circuits are VXMD circuits. These are in excess of 20 years old and are an unsupported, end of life product.
“The decommissioning of nine BT circuits and conversion to wireless transmission will present a saving of approximately £8,500 per annum, in perpetuity, based on current rates. The conversion would present a decreased reliance on a transmission infrastructure where there is uncertainty regarding its future and associated revenue costs.
“The CCTV scheme assists the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) in their statutory duty to reduce crime and disorder, substance misuse and re-offending in their local authority area. A wireless transmission solution will enable significant and additional CCTV funding to be received as part of the Government’s Safer Streets 5 initiative.
“Studies demonstrate CCTV reduces overall actual crime by 13 per cent, with the perception/fear of crime likely to be far higher than this figure. At a time when the resources of public bodies are stretched, the continued use of CCTV will assist with reducing the fear of crime and assist to increase public confidence.”
