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 CCTV Conwy’s control room is streets ahead
Few CCTV installations cause a sharp intake of breath when first seen. However, this is exactly the reaction when Conwy’s hugely impressive new CCTV control room is viewed. Covering the county of Conwy, centred on the delightful seaside towns of the north Welsh coast, the room is dominated by the huge video wall - 54 state of the art monitors set in three rows. Viewed by shifts of three operators throughout the day and night, potential areas of concern are continually panned and zoomed to ensure a water tight surveillance umbrella is maintained within the district. The control room is one of the largest of its kind in the UK. It is already proving highly effective in the pursuit of crime reduction, as well as assisting in other areas of improving public administration.
The major new CCTV system that covers Conwy County in part owes its scope and size to the success of the first Town Centre TV system for Colwyn Bay, installed in 1996. This first system of around 20 cameras, predominantly located in the town centre with a small number in housing areas, was extremely successful in addressing the issue of rising street crime. The system was Local Authority operated in a small control room, with video communication links to the local Police control room when required. This system was credited for a 25% reduction in street crime. Such success led to an additional 17 cameras being installed in Llandudno in 1997, aimed at reducing both street and retail crime. Such was the impact that other local areas were requesting inclusion in the system.
Rather than a continuing piecemeal approach to expanding the existing system, Conwy County Borough Council took a more strategic look at the longer term requirement and devised Project 2000, a proposal that was not just technically advanced, but highly innovative in its funding. A Crime and Disorder audit of the county identified that the levels and nature of local crime justified a CCTV system. On this justification the Home Office's CCTV Initiative was the source of 50% of the required funds. The balance came from town and county council budgets and the private sector - leading to the formation of a well balanced funding partnership.
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