Plymouth ‘talking cameras’ shame the litter louts

The Bosch speakers, working alongside existing PTZ cameras, run over the existing fibre infrastructure and allow control room operators to challenge anti-social behaviour.

The operators have been able to tackle littering and loitering with verbal warnings via the loudspeakers. They have also re-united lost children with their parents and re-assured people in times of crisis such as when someone is in need of medical attention and an ambulance is on the way.

Mike Atherton, community safety manager for Plymouth City Centre Company, said: “We have the power to actively remind people they are being watched. So if, for example, an operator sees someone throwing a piece of rubbish on the floor they will instruct them to pick it up which shames the person into disposing of it properly”.

The loudspeakers – specified via the fire and security division of Western Electrical – “allow us to prevent and deter irresponsible, anti-social and lawbreaking behaviour before it happens”, he said.

Although the Bosch Praesideo controller allows 100 pre-recorded messages Atherton said it was more beneficial to make a live broadcast “and mention something they are wearing in order to really hammer home that we can see exactly what they are doing.”

Although they have had “positive” response from the public the operators have not been using it excessively, he said.

“We aim to maintain a balance and only use them when required.”

Free Download: The Video Surveillance Report 2023

Discover the latest developments in the rapidly-evolving video surveillance sector by downloading the 2023 Video Surveillance Report. Over 500 responses to our survey, which come from integrators to consultants and heads of security, inform our analysis of the latest trends including AI, the state of the video surveillance market, uptake of the cloud, and the wider economic and geopolitical events impacting the sector!

Download for FREE to discover top industry insight around the latest innovations in video surveillance systems.

Download The Video Surveillance Report