Surrey Police pioneers new surveillance technology to tackle anti-social behaviour

Surrey Police officers in Surrey Heath are trialling a new internet-based CCTV camera in their continued battle against anti-social behaviour in the borough.

Just weeks after it was launched, the new Community Monitored TV (CMTV) system, provided by Jabbakam, is already helping to save time and money in investigating allegations of anti-social behaviour. Real-time images, historical searches and remote control of the camera’s position can be accessed any time from any computer, which makes it much more user-friendly than traditional CCTV cameras.

Alternatively, users can set their cameras to alert them, receiving emails or text messages when unexpected activity is detected.

Until now, Surrey had been using a mobile 3G CCTV system which utilised bulky, expensive and dated cameras which stored footage and took hours to download and monitor, wasting valuable time and money.

Surrey Heath crime-prevention and design adviser John Eldridge has been working on the project in conjunction with local housing association Accent Peerless.

He said: “Anti-social behaviour still remains a top priority for residents in Surrey Heath. This new system is fully secure, with the recordings held on the supplier’s server. Instead of taking hours to download footage, we can simply log on and gain instant access to the images we want. In one instance, we received a Section 5 public order report and within hours we were able to prove that the allegation was false – saving the investigating officer valuable time.”

Mr Eldridge added: “It is working well so far, with footage already being used for evidence to aid police investigations and resolve crimes. The benefits of this kind of technology for the police and the wider community are endless.”

Surrey Police has one camera currently deployed with two more on order and the possibility for a fourth currently under discussion.