By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Council’s CCTV network needs upgrading as part of plans to tackle crime and disorder over the coming years.
The Labour-run authority had proposed to stop monitoring its network of cameras 24 hours a day as part of cuts which will save £100,000 a year.
But the authority made a U-turn on this decision in January 2021 following talks with the then Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping.
There are more than 200 cameras monitored 24 hours a day by a number of operators at a council hub in Radford.
As part of the Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan 2022 to 2025, it has been highlighted that the council’s CCTV needs upgrading.
The Crime and Drugs Partnership is made up of a number of statutory and non-statutory agencies including Nottinghamshire Police, Nottingham City Council, the Fire and Rescue Service, and the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.
Councillors are set to discuss and adopt the plan at a full council meeting on Monday, July 11.
A report on the proposals states: “The CCTV network in Nottingham City, which requires a sustainable upgrade solution,” will need “strategic direction” in 2022/23.
It is not explained in the report how this will be funded – and the council currently need to make £38m of savings over the next four years.
Lord Vernon Coaker, chair of the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Board, said in part of the report: “As we enter into a period of transition following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and restoring of our towns and cities to normal routines, we must still have regard for the lasting impacts of the pandemic, from both a health and socioeconomic perspective.
“Many sectors continue to rebuild, and some areas have been irrevocably altered in the wake of the pandemic. From a community safety standpoint, the pandemic has had a significant impact.
“Significant reductions in the volume of crime were seen, and we find that levels have remained lower than may have been anticipated at this stage, particularly in key areas such as burglary and robbery, which we know are of concern to citizens.
“Anti-social behaviour, which increased exponentially during the lockdown periods, has seen a steady decline, contributed to by the work of the partnership and a clear focus on citizens’ wellbeing.
“This will remain a focus of the partnership during the coming year.
“We will continue to highlight as a priority tackling discrimination and prejudice in our city and combating all forms of extremism including those motivated by the far right. We stand with the vast majority of the public who deplore racism and hate crime.
“Hate crime, including misogyny, remains a priority for the partnership, and we are pleased to support work across the partnership which highlights the experiences of women and girls.
“The community safety agenda will undoubtedly be influenced by challenges in the years ahead and future versions of this plan will rightly be revised to incorporate these.
“This year’s plan and priorities reflect the core crime and anti-social behaviour issues affecting the city, and the partnership remains committed to tackling them through dedicated multi-agency problem solving and collaboration.”
