Contract for the provision of CCTV maintenance for Stafford Borough Council

The Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) provision at the Borough Council is operated in accordance with the ‘Surveillance Camera Code of Practice’ (Home Office, 2013) and is designed to assist in the prevention and detection of crime. It is also used to provide evidence to relevant enforcement agencies, promote economic wellbeing and provide reassurance to the residents living in the Borough about their safety.

The Council currently work very closely with all their strategic partners to ensure that Stafford Borough has a vibrant night time economy and that people living, visiting and working here feel safe and secure at all times. Initiatives such as the Taxi Marshall Scheme; Street Pastors, Business Crime Partnership and Best Bar None – all aided by the CCTV provision - have assisted in reducing the overall crime levels in the town centres by 17% over the past 3 years.

All the CCTV cameras are currently linked together and assist the Police in being able to track offenders down before and after they have committed crimes in the Borough. The cameras act as a very good deterrent especially when located in town centres for the day and night time economy, on or around large car parking areas and retail developments.

There are currently considerable investments being made in the Borough in terms of regeneration which will have an impact on the number of people visiting, working and living here. It will also mean that there is likely to be projected increase in the levels of business crime due to the proposed retail offer that the regeneration will bring with it.

The Council has, made a considerable investment in their CCTV function over the past five years, which has seen a complete refurbishment of the CCTV control room - located at the Civic Centre. The investment that has been made on both the hardware and software has vastly improved the service that we are able to provide. However, a recent survey of the CCTV provision has highlighted that there are additional issues that the Council needs to address to improve the system further which will need to be addressed as part of this maintenance agreement.