Elite CCTV club
The borough’s CCTV service has remained in an elite national club after its latest inspection for excellence.
Slough retained its place for a second year as only one of 100 local authorities in England and Wales to be awarded a British Standard.
For the rigorous inspection by the Security Systems and Alarm Board, SSAIB, the team had to meet high standards and demonstrate the management and operation of the CCTV service is compliant with the law, has robust policies and procedures in place, and has vetted, well-trained and dedicated staff operating the cameras.
The team also had to demonstrate the privacy of the public was protected and at the core of all operations, as well as being transparent and open to close scrutiny.
Based just outside the town centre, the team works closely with Thames Valley Police everyday and their CCTV work is often used in prosecutions as evidence in court due to its quality.
The number of cameras connected to the CCTV system continues to increase with more areas of the town being covered as well as the addition of high definition cameras.
Cllr Mohammed Nazir, cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: “With the cameras we are better able to protect the public and are able to deliver high definition evidential images to the police.
“There are many examples of where Slough CCTV evidence has been pivotal in proving an individual committed an offence but equally importantly, to demonstrate they are innocent as the case may be.
“Slough’s CCTV operators are on duty 24 hours a day, every day, working hard to protect the residents and visitors to Slough.”
There are a number of examples of the team’s work but many of them cannot be made public due to cases still going through the legal system. However, the team were pivotal in providing evidence regarding the man who vandalised the WW1 Tommy soldier sculpture in the town centre last year. CCTV operators viewed material and managed to capture the moment the statue was vandalised, where the attacker had been before and after the incident. The vandal was given a four week prison sentence by magistrates for damaging the statue despite the fact he had no memory of the vandalism but admitted it was him in the CCTV footage.
In the last year Slough CCTV service has produced 485 evidential DVDs for the police, 44 for insurance companies and supported 357 arrests among the 1860 incidents where CCTV has been involved.
Peter Webster, CCTV and Careline Centre Manager, said: “This accreditation is important to us and we have worked hard to achieve it for a second year.
“It demonstrates how we manage and operate the borough’s CCTV service lawfully. Evidence captured by our cameras and used by our police partners in investigations and prosecutions cannot be discredited in a court of law by reason of failure to observe the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which is a critically important aspect of operating public space CCTV services.
“It also demonstrates to the public that we have shown to be operating in their best interests.”
As a result of the British Standard BS:7958 accreditation the CCTV service has also been bestowed the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s own Code of Practice achievement award for a second year.
Slough retained its place for a second year as only one of 100 local authorities in England and Wales to be awarded a British Standard.
For the rigorous inspection by the Security Systems and Alarm Board, SSAIB, the team had to meet high standards and demonstrate the management and operation of the CCTV service is compliant with the law, has robust policies and procedures in place, and has vetted, well-trained and dedicated staff operating the cameras.
The team also had to demonstrate the privacy of the public was protected and at the core of all operations, as well as being transparent and open to close scrutiny.
Based just outside the town centre, the team works closely with Thames Valley Police everyday and their CCTV work is often used in prosecutions as evidence in court due to its quality.
The number of cameras connected to the CCTV system continues to increase with more areas of the town being covered as well as the addition of high definition cameras.
Cllr Mohammed Nazir, cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: “With the cameras we are better able to protect the public and are able to deliver high definition evidential images to the police.
“There are many examples of where Slough CCTV evidence has been pivotal in proving an individual committed an offence but equally importantly, to demonstrate they are innocent as the case may be.
“Slough’s CCTV operators are on duty 24 hours a day, every day, working hard to protect the residents and visitors to Slough.”
There are a number of examples of the team’s work but many of them cannot be made public due to cases still going through the legal system. However, the team were pivotal in providing evidence regarding the man who vandalised the WW1 Tommy soldier sculpture in the town centre last year. CCTV operators viewed material and managed to capture the moment the statue was vandalised, where the attacker had been before and after the incident. The vandal was given a four week prison sentence by magistrates for damaging the statue despite the fact he had no memory of the vandalism but admitted it was him in the CCTV footage.
In the last year Slough CCTV service has produced 485 evidential DVDs for the police, 44 for insurance companies and supported 357 arrests among the 1860 incidents where CCTV has been involved.
Peter Webster, CCTV and Careline Centre Manager, said: “This accreditation is important to us and we have worked hard to achieve it for a second year.
“It demonstrates how we manage and operate the borough’s CCTV service lawfully. Evidence captured by our cameras and used by our police partners in investigations and prosecutions cannot be discredited in a court of law by reason of failure to observe the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which is a critically important aspect of operating public space CCTV services.
“It also demonstrates to the public that we have shown to be operating in their best interests.”
As a result of the British Standard BS:7958 accreditation the CCTV service has also been bestowed the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s own Code of Practice achievement award for a second year.
