Integrated CCTV ‘hubs’ provide coordinated response

Integrated CCTV ‘super hubs’ are ensuring a “coordinated approach to enforcement and to community safety across Cornwall”. Responsibility for the provision of CCTV systems in town centres has historically been a grey area. But an alliance between local towns, the fire and rescue service, Cornwall Council and the office of the police and crime commissioner (PCC) is addressing the problem with a shared monitoring hub. The CCTV hub at Cornwall’s fire and rescue service headquarters in Tolvaddon is already linked to ten other systems across the county – at Camborne, Hayle, Helston, Penzance, Redruth, Truro, Penryn, Falmouth, Bodmin and St Ives. Cornwall’s PCC Alison Hernandez says hubs like this will “help to increase efficiencies, share costs and will help us better link CCTV into police control rooms in an emergency”. She has pledged £200,000 to help seed fund CCTV systems in towns across Devon and Cornwall and support further monitoring hubs. The fire and rescue service is expected to seek funding to expand capacity at the Tolvaddon hub and extend its monitoring role. Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Superintendent Jim Pearce said an integrated CCTV system for Cornwall for police was “excellent news”. “It means we can have a coordinated approach to enforcement and to community safety to make people feel safe,” he added. “The service delivery across all of those towns where there is a system means that officers have direct contact with the control room and we can send resources where they are most needed so we can prevent things from escalating.” Ms Hernandez said “safe, resilient and connected communities” are the focus of her police and crime plan and CCTV plays a fundamental part of that journey. “We are in an alliance with Dorset and we are trying to show off the excellent work being carried out in Cornwall to see how we can help them achieve similar aims as we have here.” Martyn Underhill, the PCC for Dorset – which has a strategic alliance with the Devon and Cornwall force – has already visited Tolvaddon to see how the integrated approach works, in particular the involvement of the fire and rescue service. “Dorset is quite similar to Cornwall in its make-up and I see a synergy between both,” he said. “We do have a CCTV project in Dorset but fire are not involved and as PCC I want to try and bring the whole of Dorset into one CCTV system. “It’s all about public safety and getting the best use out of our resources.”