Crime & Safety Scrutiny Panel – 21 September 2010
Crime & Safety Scrutiny Panel: Development & Monitoring of CCTV within Enfield
REPORT OF:
Alan Gardner (Enfield Public Safety Monitoring Centre Manager)
Telephone 020.8379.8888
1. SUMMARY
This report outlines the development of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and the Enfield Public Safety Centre (EPSC) current installations, and its successful operation to date in both public realm CCTV and CCTV traffic enforcement. Since December 2002 starting with 3 CCTV cameras in Enfield Town to over 180 cameras in 2010 the centre has in Enfield alone assisted with over 8,777 incidents and contributed to over 3,406 arrests.
The recent technology introduction of Automated Number Plate Reading ANPR cameras strategically placed has recovered in less than two years over £1,149,000 of stolen vehicles and over 267 arrests. The EPSC, always looking to the future, is now looking to provide lone worker protection monitoring later this year with state of the art location finding mapping for internal staff and external clients as well as embarking on civic building protection (video and alarm monitoring).
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
Crime and Safety Scrutiny Panel is asked to note the contents of the report. The panel is also requested to formally note the efforts of the CCTV contracted staff and the LBE admin and Met police officer in making the EPSC one of the most respected control room centres’s in London if not the UK, hosting visits from many overseas police services and other local authorities.
3. BACKGROUND
3.1. In 2001 the Enfield Crime and Disorder Partnership Board was successful in obtaining £2.1 million from the Home Office CCTV Challenge Fund for the provision of a purpose built CCTV and Alarm Monitoring Centre. This award was one ninth of the total money awarded to London and the biggest individual bid.
3.2. Enfield Council led on the development of the bid on behalf of the Crime and Disorder Partnership Board and has been responsible for its implementation.
3.3. The Council has also contributed financially to the building of the Enfield Public Safety Centre through the provision of the land at 1/3 Centre Way, providing additional funding for development of the centre and underwriting the running costs of the centre annually, currently £1,2M. A large proportion of these costs are offset by income from external contracts and internal recharging, approximately £650K in 2009/10.
3.4. The fundamental purpose of the centre was to provide a CCTV and Alarm monitoring capacity both for the London Borough of Enfield and external partners. Whilst the CCTV element is expanding the alarm monitoring service side is still in its infancy and it is hoped that this will also take off and reduce current revenue expenditure to the council for provision of current alarm monitoring services.
3.5. The centre started operation in December 2002 and was formally opened in May 2003. Since December 2002 it has monitored over 14,179 (8,777 in Enfield) incidents leading to over 5,435 (3,406 in Enfield) arrests. It should be noted that the incident rate and arrests has risen dramatically as the camera coverage within Enfield expanded permitting the EPSC to assist the local police in more and more areas across the borough.
3.6. The centre commenced the monitoring of CCTV cameras for LB Waltham Forest in April 2004 on a contract. This has led to over 5,402 incidents being monitored leading to over 2,029 arrests.
3.7. The centre also monitors traffic enforcement cameras on a contract for Transport for London and for Environmental Services. These cameras are available for community safety matters outside traffic enforcement hours and are also available if any incident should occur during contract monitoring hours.
3.8. CCTV Traffic enforcement is highly effective with over 45,000 PCN’s (penalty charge notices) issued in 2008, and income generated of approximately £1,758,000 and for 2009, 35,940 PCN’s were issued, generating approximate income of £1,574,000.
4. CURRENT CCTV SYSTEMS MONITORED
4.1. The current systems monitored at the centre, owners, number of cameras, are included at Appendix A.
5. CURRENT CCTV PROJECTS
5.1. Enfield full Council approved a three year CCTV strategy of installation of a strategic mixture of housing estate and street CCTV cameras across the borough which were placed into ten area “schemes” totaling £1.5M capital that was to be phased in over three years at approx £500K per annum. The 2008/9 schemes (phase 1) was completed and 2009/10 schemes (phase 2) are out to tender with a lot of the infrastructure work already completed and ready (ducting, radio network etc). The final 3 schemes for 2010/11 (phase 3) with the remaining £430K approx capital is awaiting member approvals to proceed and complete the strategy.
5.2. In 2008, Enfield managed to secure 300K from the Home Office for its innovative strategic approach to Automated Number Plate reading (ANPR) cameras and with capital contribution from Enfield council placed 14 CCTV cameras in two schemes at vehicle choke points in the borough. Since October 2008 the EPSC has recovered over £1,000,000 of stolen vehicles and made hundreds of arrests and it is one of the most effective ANPR systems in London due to the strategic planning of locations to maximize efficiencies.
5.3. The new systems introduced or to be introduced, and camera numbers, are attached at Appendix B.
6. EXTERNAL MONITORING
6.1. Since April 2004 the Monitoring Centre has been monitoring sixty cameras for the London Borough of Waltham Forest – public space cameras. Negotiations are underway for the possibility of extending our monitoring contract past the current expiry date of 31st March 2011.
6.2. Monitoring is undertaken for Transport for London bus lane enforcement cameras managed by EPSC and on behalf of LBE Traffic Enforcement department. Out of the whole LBE CCTV system, 25 cameras are registered with the Department of Transport as traffic enforcement cameras and able to perform those duties. Wherever possible Enfield places additional community “crime” cameras on the same poles (or vice versa) as enforcement cameras in order not to impact on either service. This gives operational benefits and running costs savings such as sharing street furniture and transmission connection costs and also being able to cover both sides of a road when required, or at night when enforcement ceases.
6.3. The centre also monitors six Transport for London cameras at the underpass at North Middlesex Hospital. This has recently been increased by a further 14 TfL underpass cameras located at the Gt Cambridge Roundabout area.
6.4. First Capital Connect (FCC), a train operating company is now under a long term contract to reside their whole company’s CCTV monitoring of nearly 70 railways stations and to operate from within the EPSC facility. FCC pay contributions to overhead running costs that support the council’s overall running of the EPSC.
6.5. By signing up to the TfL camera sharing initiative, and Enfield was on the original concept project, LBE and LBWF have free access to over 80 TfL surface CCTV cameras that are located on primary roads such as the A406 and A10 for use in crime prevention or incident management. These have assisted in numerous car chase incidents or RTA’s in particular with notable arrests.
7. USAGE AND SYSTEM PERFORMANCE.
7.1. The EPSC since its first successful incident in December 2002 has increased its incident and arrest performance year on year. Creation of a recent CCTV operator on line incident database will enable future analysis of current performance across a range of search criteria such as camera (location), incident type, number of arrests etc, even by ward area.
7.2. This Fusion2 incident database has just started being used and the EPSC is inputting in quiet shift periods all manual record incident data so that it will contain a complete CCTV incident record that can be used to evaluate the system. Over 85% of all records have been input so far and it is hoped all historical CCTV incident records will be on the new database by end of October 2010.
7.3. Examples of some of the incident data currently transposed and available for 2009/10 is attached at Appendix C, and is a sample of what we hope to develop and provide to our internal and external clients, and the public to show the quality of service delivery in crime reduction partnership with the police, and also for our internal performance management.
8. EPSC STAFFING STRUCTURE
8.1. The centre has developed and expanded considerably since its original conception and introduction in December 2002. An external provider has a contract for supplying the monitoring staff with only the CCTV Manager, Operations supervisor and his administrative support officer being LBE employees at the centre and a seconded police and evidence liaison officer. Currently, apart from the LBE and police staff already mentioned there are 2 operators 24/7 monitoring over 150 Enfield street cameras and an operator 24/7 monitoring LBWF’s 60 camera system. CCTV Traffic Enforcement is operated with four staff working 7/7 dayshifts. This whole process is managed by contracted Duty Officers who are present 24/7 and who report to the LBE operations Supervisor and Police Liaison Officer who cover for each other as much as they can.
Appendix A – Current systems monitored
Street CCTV in Enfield / EPSC (LBE) / 155 / Managed by EPSC – CCTV located in most but not all ward areas.
Traffic enforcement LBE / Traffic Enforcement (LBE) / 25 / DOT notified and approved for enforcement
Underpass cameras / TfL / 20 / Located at Gt Cambridge roundabout and A406 , N Middx Hospital locations
Tower blocks (various) / Enfield Homes / 38 / Internal cameras – external estate cameras were taken under EPSC (LBE) management over two years ago
Civic buildings / FM Dept (LBE) / 30 / Two civic buildings with five more planned for linkage from FM portfolio
Civic building / Education dept (LBE) / 5 / Florence Heys - new facility just linked into EPSC
Parks / Environment dept (LBE) / 3 / Elsinge Park and QE2 stadium cameras at present linked to EPSC
Libraries - other properties / Property dept (LBE) / N/K (50) / Enfield Town Library and Thomas Hardy House – video alarm linkage to EPSC in progress
Trunk road street cameras / TfL / 88+ / Camera sharing SLA with TfL gives EPSC access to all TfL cameras for crime and incident usage. LBE was one of original partners in setting up this pan London camera sharing project
Street cameras in LB Waltham Forest / L B Waltham Forest / 58 / CCTV scheme monitored by EPSC under contract till March 2011, negotiations underway to retain services
Train station cameras / First Capital Connect / 1,000+ / All 67 stations CCTV managed and run by FCC from within the EPSC but have physical video link if cameras needed for incidents in Enfield stations
Industrial estates / Environment dept / 11 / Montegue and Claverings estates monitored
Appendix B new and proposed CCTV schemes or systems to be linked to EPSC
1 / 2009/10 CCTV schemes covering Aleycroft estate (Southbury Ward), Shires estate (Edmonton Green Ward), Nightingale Rd (Lower Edmonton Ward), Barbot estate (Edmonton Green Ward) / 20 / Part 2 of 3 year CCTV strategy and work currently out to tender, ducting completed and radio network (transmission ordered
2 / 20010/11 schemes covering Lychett Way estate (Southbury Ward), Ordnance Rd & Enfield Island village (Enfield Lock Ward), Cambridge Terrace (Bush Hill Park Ward) / 20 (est) / Final phase 3 of 3 of the CCTV strategy – although capital funding is still available to complete the project this has been halted due to the financial review of the council and a decision made to prioritise and complete by members.
3 / ANPR & CCTV scheme 1 – North and east corridor Bullsmoor Lane, Hertford Rd North and Meridian Way (Brimsdown Stn and Nags Head areas) / 2 ANPR and 3 CCTV cameras / This scheme to capture criminals entering Enfield from Hertfordshire and Essex got bid and funding approval but was cancelled recently due to government withdrawal of funding streams to Local authorities
4 / ANPR & CCTV scheme 2 – South West Enfield , New Southgate, arterial routes of Bowes Rd and Waterfall Rd into Enfield / 2 ANPR and 2 CCTV cameras / This strategic project was submitted as a bid for funding but was rejected. It will be resubmitted as it forms part of the strategic planning of ANPR in the borough which has been extremely effective in robbery detection and arrests as well as other serious crimes solved.
5 / ANPR & CCTV scheme 3 – North central Enfield , The Ridgeway main arterial route M25 Junct 24 / 2 ANPR and 2 CCTV cameras / Same comment as at 4 above
6 / ANPR & CCTV scheme 4 – North West Enfield , Cockfosters main arterial route M25 junct 24 / 2 ANPR and 2 CCTV cameras / Same comment as at 4 above
7 / MSCP in Enfield Town / 22 (est) / Project in progress for linkage of CCTV system to EPSC
8 / Lodge Drive and Minchendon Car Parks / 4 / Project in progress for linkage of CCTV system to EPSC
9 / Angel Industrial estate CCTV & ANPR / 7 (est) / Funding for the scheme is being organized by the estate management company for linkage to EPSC
10 / Palace Gardens shopping centre CCTV system / 50 (est) / Crime and emergency camera linkage – fibre and equipment installed – negotiating SLA with the Met police and system owner
11 / St Modwens shopping centre CCTV system / 80+ (est) / Bid funding approved - (St Modwens contribution required) Crime and emergency camera linkage – quotation installed – negotiating SLA with the Met police and system owner
Appendix C – performance measurement