With World Town Planning Day and the three-month anniversary of the devastating riots that affected the country in August both occurring this week, the BSIA is reminding town planners, local authorities and community safety groups of the pivotal role played by surveillance systems in the protection of public spaces and communities.
Despite historical controversy around the use of CCTV systems to ensure the protection of the general public and infrastructure in town centres, the high profile and crucial role played by the technology in the police’s post-riots crackdowns (which have resulted in over 3,000 arrests to date) has allowed for a positive shift in the general public’s perception towards security systems.
Research commissioned by a member of the BSIA’s CCTV Section following the UK riots has in fact revealed that 76% of individuals surveyed feel safer knowing that CCTV is in operation in public areas, with 62% of respondents suggesting they would actually like to see more CCTV in their local area.
It’s not just the general public that appreciates the crime-fighting capabilities of this technology. Speaking as part of a Radio 5 Live debate attended by Chris Williams of the Association’s CCTV Section, Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Concannon of the Metropolitan Police Service highlighted how, particularly in the follow-up investigations post-riots, surveillance technology truly came into its own.
Tracking down the rioters and looters
“There were large numbers arrested…” said Concannon, “but [it was] impossible to gather them all up on that night, so that’s when we then fought back on the CCTV.”
Supported by forensics and witness testimonies, CCTV is playing “a wide part” in tracking down rioters and looters, with DCI Concannon confident that “a very good proportion of those individuals will ultimately be brought to justice” as a result. The large numbers of arrests and subsequent convictions made have amply demonstrated this.
These statements reflect the BSIA’s view that, where effectively installed and maintained, CCTV can be a crime-fighting tool like no other.
“For a long time, CCTV has been a silent witness to crime, gathering indisputable evidence after a crime has been committed,” explained Simon Adcock, vice-chairman of the BSIA’s CCTV Section.
“However, the CCTV operations following the riots in London, Manchester and other parts of the UK have demonstrated how recent developments in surveillance have allowed the technology to become even more accurate when identifying and tracking down culprits.”
Adcock continued: “Improved image quality achieved by cameras supplied by reliable security providers now allows for the positive identification of the people involved in the acts of violence, in many cases saving the Government millions of pounds as a result of guilty pleas brokered after the criminal involved has been shown indisputable video evidence of him or herself committing the crime in question.”
Using video analytics in intelligent ways
Intelligent and innovative ways of using video analytics have also allowed police forces and private security companies tasked with studying the footage to find new ways of identifying culprits.
“Thanks to video analytics,” asserted Adcock, “the whereabouts of the individuals involved can be confirmed, tracing them back to an earlier time when, for example, they did not have their hood on and in turn allowing for a clearer view of the face. Moreover, CCTV images enabled officers to locate where items carrying forensic evidence could be found, for example by tracking drinks cans from recordings of the moment and location of disposal.”
All of this is possible thanks to the responsible commitment to developing Best Practice exhibited on a continual basis by the private security industry.
“CCTV is vital to the protection of our society,” stated Adcock, “and the security industry in the UK is dedicated to ensuring it’s used responsibly. It is in fact possible to safeguard civil liberties while making effective use of CCTV systems as the two are not mutually exclusive.”
As state-owned CCTV accounts for less than 10% of the cameras in the UK, it’s the privately owned surveillance systems that provide the majority of evidence in prosecutions. In the commercial environment, business owners are already adopting Best Practice techniques as their main concern is to protect their assets.
“However, in order to be able to continue to benefit from the capabilities that this technology can provide, it’s important for end users to avoid rogue security providers who can jeopardise the effectiveness of the cameras by, for example, not giving issues such as positioning and lighting the consideration required at the time of installation, or by defaulting their cameras to the lowest image quality setting in order to improve the storage capacity of their product and therefore make it look less expensive.”
If you want to locate reliable CCTV manufacturers and installers in your area visit the BSIA website
