CCTV is becoming savvier and smarter against fighting crime

Two seperate councils from opposite ends of the United Kingdom are drawing up plans to revamp their CCTV infrastructure in their city centres – by making it savvier and smarter. Perth in central Scotland and Bristol are both looking to 'savvy up' their urban security by integrating new sophisticated software into their surveillance systems.

Smarter CCTV north of the border - The Bristolian plans have already been approved by the City Council and are expected to undergo development over the next few years. Meanwhile up in Scotland, Perth city centre could be enjoying a similar refurbishment of its own surveillance systems.

Councillors have earmarked £265,000 from the Smart Cities Programme to modernise the city centre cameras, and the money would go towards implementing scrolling and tracking technology in the existing CCTV system. If successful, it could allow the authorities to keep a closer eye on large gatherings, track suspects’ movements around town and ease traffic build-up by more efficiently locating accidents and break-downs.

“The next generation of digital CCTV has the potential to revolutionise how our city centre can be made safer,” explained Peter Barrett, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the region. “Having a shared operation with the police will deliver efficiencies, but the real benefits will be realised through the software.”

Increased connectivity in the West Country - After opening a new operations centre in October of this year, Bristol already boasted one of the most interconnected CCTV systems in the country. By monitoring collisions and weather incidents, the authorities can manipulate traffic lights and pinpoint the fastest route to the scene of an accident for the emergency services.

Now, however, the City Council wants to modernise that system even further by upgrading all of its 1,700 CCTV cameras from analogue to digital. This would allow those monitoring the footage to zoom in, scroll and track events as they unfold, with the potential to integrate a speaker system in order to dispense advice to those on the scene. The Council are also looking at using some of the £2 million budget to implement measures such as “smart bins”, which alert waste disposal companies when they are full, and pollution sensors on park benches and the suchlike.

Remember, security begins at home - While the plans for enhanced urban CCTV coverage will no doubt benefit citizens and visitors when out and about in town, it shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for adequate security measures in and around your own home or business. A state-of-the-art security system is the number one deterrent for domestic and commercial crime; make sure your property is properly protected.

Here at Catchpoint UK, we have a whole host of intruder alerts, CCTV security cameras and access control systems to increase safety and give you peace of mind. To find out more about how we can help secure your home or workplace, get in touch with one of our team members today.

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