By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
A new local CCTV control room will be built in Newark after concerns one run from outside of the district is not passing on information fast enough.
Newark & Sherwood District Council’s 104 CCTV cameras are currently operated from Nottinghamshire Police’s headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, Arnold, as part of a partnership.
The authority has now voted to withdraw from this arrangement and build an in-house control centre instead, which it hopes will help speed up responses to crime.
One councillor said under the current arrangements it had taken two days for information about one incident caught on CCTV to reach the authority.
The new centre will cost around £682,000, according to a council report, compared to £132,000 if the council stayed in the current CCTV partnership arrangement.
Councillors hope most of the cost will be met from the long-term Town Funding which Newark has been granted by the Government.
Councillor Paul Taylor (Lab), portfolio holder for public protection, said the facility would be a “massive change in the campaign against anti-social behaviour”.
“Recently someone smashed a window in the town centre with a hammer. CCTV cameras picked it up – but we only found that out two days later,” he told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (March 27).
“With our own control room, this would have been seen at the time and one radio message will get police there straight away to stop any other offences happening.”
Leader Councillor Paul Peacock (Lab) said: “I am regularly frustrated by CCTV images being poor because the equipment is too old, meaning we’re unable to deal with perpetrators properly.
“The cameras will act as real deterrent.
“If we’re unsuccessful in getting Town Funding allocated, a decision will be made in future around extra funding.”
Councillor Emma Oldham (Ind) said: “I work in this sector, and just having the latest technology makes such a difference in being able to tackle repeat offenders.”
The cameras could generate revenue for the council by providing surveillance for other public organisations.
The control centre would be located in a council-owned property, with five people employed to monitor the cameras 24 hours a day.
The council will now draw up a business case to seek approval to use the Town Funding, and give notice that it will pull out of the CCTV partnership at Sherwood Lodge.
