Posted on January 10th, 2023.

A £2m overhaul of Grimsby's previously ageing CCTV public network "in desperate need of upgrades" has been completed with time even for a trial period.

New cameras have been brought in and a fully refurbished control room unveiled. The work will allow far quicker link-up between the control room and Humberside Police to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour, but the cost of the project doubled as more elements were added.

Together with its regeneration partner EQUANS, North East Lincolnshire Council began the upgrade of the CCTV system from Summer 2022. An upgrade of the old CCTV system had been considered since November 2018 with it already then viewed as "beyond its life expectancy".

Initially, £1m was allocated to invest in the improvements in July 2020. But when the CCTV system overhaul was put out to tender in November 2021, the cost was much higher than expected. Due to extra requirements of the scheme and "a significant increase in unforeseen costs because of market conditions", the Conservative-run council cabinet had to approve an extra £1.25m in April.

This took the cost of the CCTV upgrade to £2.25m and the extra £1.25m was borrowed. It will be paid back by the council from 2023/24 onwards at a cost of £150,000 per year.

Work on the CCTV upgrade began last summer and was completed before Christmas. This has allowed time for an ongoing trial period to "ensure any final snagging issues can be resolved which includes minor amendments to the viewing angles of certain cameras", the council's Communities Scrutiny Panel has been told.

Besides the new refurbished control room, all cameras have been replaced and upgraded to digital, a tannoy system introduced in key locations, and there is a "revised transmission network".

Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said in reaction to the CCTV upgrade's completion: "This piece of work has been about making residents feel safer on our streets and in their communities, and I believe that it will achieve that outcome.

“The old network was in desperate need of upgrades, and we have invested in it to the point where we have upgraded 97 existing CCTV cameras and introduced an additional 61 new cameras across the borough so that they offer better quality images and can be monitored easily.

More non-fixed mobile cameras able to be moved to different sites, also known as "Rapid Deployment Cameras" have also been brought in. The main purpose of the CCTV network is to aid Humberside Police and other emergency services. Hundreds of pieces of footage are supplied each year, said Cllr Shepherd. Between February 2021 and February 2022, 170 separate videos were passed onto the police and trading standards.

"Following the new upgrades, I expect that this work will continue to a greater degree. We have no place for crime and anti-social behaviour in our borough, and I’m hoping that these latest CCTV upgrades will act as a deterrent to any would-be criminals this Christmas."

The extra upgrade requirements that led to the cost more than doubling included 51 more permanent cameras as a result of a crime mapping exercise by the council with Humberside Police. Together with the inclusion of 15 standalone CCTV systems on council premises into the tender, this added almost £420,000 more to the upgrade costs.

The most significant reason for the ballooning price of the upgrade was £697,000 in unforeseen costs including general retail price increase, electrical infrastructure to meet safety requirements and wireless licences. The long-running saga of Suggitt's Lane footbridge and CCTV provision added a further £70,000 to the CCTV upgrade bill. There was also £65,000 more needed for the mobile cameras and extra control improvements.

The new CCTV network is expected to have "a positive impact" by reducing demand for council services to deal with fly-tipping, graffiti and property damage. It will also assist in deterring organised crime networks.

It will also directly help council income through "increased revenue from Fixed Penalty Fines" for environmental crimes and anti-social behaviour. CCTV is especially useful to the council for fly-tipping prosecutions. From April to December 2022, North East Lincolnshire Council took six fly-tipping prosecutions to Magistrates' Court and issued around 40 fixed penalty notices.

It may lead as well to improved software and infrastructure ability to issue more fixed penalty notices for moving traffic violations and people parking illegally at schools and bus shelters.

Source: Grimsby Telegraph

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