Security staff at Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council have reported a marked decrease in town centre crime in Shrewsbury following the installation of a dedicated CCTV network courtesy of Photo-Scan Systems.
Originally the system was to have been set-up as a non-profit making venture under the auspices of the Community Care Through Vision (Shrewsbury) Trust. The Trust evolved from an initial evaluation carried out by the Shrewsbury Crime Prevention Panel that was instrumental in gaining funding from the first round of the Government’s CCTV challenge.
In all, some 25 dedicated Photo-Scan PTZ colour cameras have been installed in the town centre. Gary Howell, Borough engineer for the Council, told Security Management Today: “We’ve established a direct line of communications with West Mercia Constabulary by providing a visual link with our own central Control Room. This allows all parties to see what’s happening in the town centre. The cameras have certainly helped us no end in identifying and watching over all the recognised trouble spots.”
As the West Mercia Constabulary building is also the headquarters for the whole of Shropshire, it has the potential to become a central response station for crime throughout the county.
“When specifying our CCTV equipment, we asked Photo-Scan to build-in remote monitoring capabilities, and they’ve done exactly that,” added Howell.
“In effect, this now means that other towns or private companies throughout Shropshire can take advantage of our 24-hour monitoring capabilities.”
