Cash crisis will leave CCTV cameras unmanned

Oct 17 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

WIRRAL’S CCTV network would be left unmonitored between 9am and 5pm under cost-cutting plans being considered by the council.

As the authority struggles to deal with a projected £60m gap in its budget over the next three years, departments across the authority have been told to find savings.

Monitoring of the 101 cameras across the borough would stop from Monday to Friday during the day.

The council also plans to almost double the cost of home care for hundreds of people across the borough who pay according to their income.

Those who already pay the full fee will see that increase by a third by April 2009.

The measures are all part of the authority’s efforts to save £45m by 2011.

Council leader Steve Foulkes warned yesterday the authority would be “a slimmer” organisation in three years time and the authority has not ruled out redundancies in its workforce.

Cllr George Davies, cabinet member for housing and community safety, said the cuts to CCTV were a “genuine example of service re-engineering” which would see essential services continue to be provided.

But last night the daytime closure of the CCTV control room was described by the Conservative opposition leader as “crackers”.

Jeff Green said: “It’s a crazy decision to make at a time when we know the public and families are demanding reassurance and to be safe.

“Labour and Liberal Democrats have decided to make these cuts when they should be doing more to reassure people.”

He said his group would be opposing the cuts to CCTV coverage and the plans to increase social services charges.

Cllr Green said: “This will impact directly on the most vulnerable people in our society.

“ It will eat away at whatever income people have and have a massive effect on their quality of life.

“It seems to me Labour and the Liberal Democrats know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” The cost-cutting measures are due to be examined next week and a report by Alan Stennard, director of regeneration, to the housing and community safety committee said £51,000 would be saved by shutting the CCTV control room between the hours of 9am and 5pm.

The report said the operatives were most busy at night and weekends and the centre would be operational from 5pm to 9am and 24 hours over weekends.

He said: “During the hours of 9am – 5pm the control room receives six to eight calls a day from Merseyside Police requesting cameras be moved and focused on various incidents, such as road traffic accidents, criminal incidents or stolen vehicles.

“Over the last 12 months a similar number of alarm calls have also been received in the control room between these hours.

“The remainder of the duty time is taken up with routine monitoring of the 101 CCTV cameras on Wirral.”

Cllr George Davies said in the past year they had had 430 alarm calls most of which were from engineers testing alarms and “only two genuine calls” had been received between 9am and 5pm.

He said it was not a cut and there would be “no service loss”, and added: “Everyone can be reassured that everything is still covered.”

liammurphy