Working in partnership with CCTV specialist Photo-Scan Systems, Thanet District Council has proven the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention. The necessity was born out of a need to tackle criminal and disruptive hot spots within Margate – a task for which Sergeant Nigel Cruttenden and PC Kim Burgess had to devise a cost-effective solution.
“We felt that mobile CCTV might be the answer,” said Sergeant Cruttenden. “That being the case, we also knew we’d need a vehicle that could easily move to areas not currently covered by the town’s own dedicated camera network. Whether we required a trailer or a bespoke vehicle, and what size it should be, would depend upon the equipment installed.”
Cruttenden and Burgess drafted a list of equipment that would satisfy the needs of the different members of Thanet’s Community Safety Partnership. Inevitably, this translated into CCTV cameras (with associated monitoring and recording equipment), noise abatement equipment and a Public Address system.
Photo-Scan already employed a mobile vehicle as a CCTV demonstration unit, and agreed to provide a fully-contained vehicle based on a Mercedes Sprinter 313 van.
Sergeant Cruttenden has been a serving police officer for nearly 30 years, and is now seconded to the Thanet Community Safety Partnership. He was heavily involved in the District Council’s bids for funding during the Home Office’s last round of CCTV grants. “We prepared four bids and were awarded two,” he said. “We were very surprised to learn that one of them was for the mobile unit, as it was the first case of its type to be presented to Government”. The other successful bid covered CCTV cameras at some residential tower blocks, together with a concierge system.
“Our objective was to deter crime,” added Cruttenden. “As such, it was essential the vehicle be highly visible and exhude an air of authority, but it couldn’t be seen as a police vehicle”. Photo-Scan has fitted two colour PTZ cameras on telescopic poles and a fixed camera at the van’s front end (there’s provision for bolting-on more cameras if and when needed).
Both PTZs are colour, although one has been fitted with a switching camera such that it can swap to mono for night-time surveillance. The viewing monitors and multiplex recording systems sit inside the vehicle towards the rear.
Mobile CCTV: its effect on crime
Thanet’s mobile CCTV unit has been in use for just over a year now. The District Council reports that it’s having a positive effect on discouraging both crime and anti-social behaviour rather than simply dispersing it to other areas.
“The vehicle was designed to be seen,” stated Sergeant Cruttenden, “and we publicly park it wherever there is a report of anti-social behaviour. The van has also proven to be successful in tackling the problem of the fear of crime, as it has a highly visible and reassuring presence. That’s an issue of great importance.”
Sergeant Cruttenden then added a hugely salient rider. “The visual appearance of physical protection will always win over facts and figures, no matter how effective the data may be in proving that there is very little for given individuals to worry about.”
As a rule, the mobile CCTV unit is driven and operated by members of Thanet District Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens team, although in truth it’s available to anyone within the Partnership – provided that they’ve passed the stringent police driving test.
“Kent Police are particularly keen to employ the unit at large events such as football matches and rock concerts,” stressed Cruttenden. “We also regularly receive requests from volunteers who want to be trained to use the CCTV equipment.”
To date, the vehicle has been in attendance at several firearms incidents. During one of these incidents, the unit was positioned to watch four converging roads – thereby allowing the police to be better deployed in containing the suspects. Indeed, the unit’s constant use has highlighted other functions not considered at the outset. Where trouble spots have led to police involvement, the vehicle may also be employed as an ‘exit strategy’, monitoring events after the police have left the scene and deterring any re-occurrence of trouble.
Recordings are also proving to be extremely useful as training records, allowing the police to see which of their actions proved effective in dealing with a specific incident, and which of them need to be improved upon. Something of an educational vehicle, then.
Use in the wider community
The police community is a close-knit one, and word of Thanet’s mobile CCTV unit is quickly spreading to other forces. Indeed, the Police Research and Development Unit in Hampshire has assessed the unit’s capabilities.
A prime factor in the unit’s design was to ensure that any security end user would be instantly familiar with the equipment inside, thereby ensuring minimal training would be needed. At present, 40 individuals have been taught how to use the unit’s systems, while its running costs have been included in the local police force’s annual budgets.
As CCTV technology moves forward apace, so the Council is conducting a feasibility study aimed at upgrading the recording systems from analogue to digital. Looking further ahead, Sergeant Cruttenden is certain that the time will come when CCTV units like this one are linked to police rapid response vehicles. They may even evolve into ‘suitcase’ systems capable of digitally transmitting pictures to other vehicles.
“Much of the technology is already available via mobile telephones and faxes,” suggested Cruttenden. “It’s simply a case of identifying the need, and then cost-effectively manipulating the technology to suit the application”. Further developments in the mobile CCTV arena are awaited with interest.
