CCTV cameras under threat

7:10am Tuesday 6th May 2008

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QUESTIONS are being asked about the future of Worcester's CCTV system because not enough money can be found to pay for it.

A review into how the system works is under way after council bosses and police chiefs agreed they cannot afford to continue running the service as it is. Worcester City Council pays for the running of the system, but costs have risen over the past few years.

West Mercia Constabulary, which houses the system and oversees it, has already subsidised it once in 2006 to the tune of £35,000.

Council officers are examining a variety of options, including reducing surveillance at off peak times or raising more money by attracting private investors, such as shops or businesses.

The city council is this year making significant cuts to its budget because it received less money from the Government than it wanted.

But opposition groups have attacked the ruling Conservative cabinet for failing to meet the CCTV funding gap.

Worcester City Council chief executive David Wareing said an extra £35,000 was needed again to cover next year's costs.

Neither the council nor the police was willing to say how much the system now costs to run. In 2006 your Worcester News reported that the city council was paying £140,000 a year, but that figure is believed to have risen since the introduction of a digital system two years ago.

Mr Wareing said: "Fundamentally, with police budgets being hard-pressed and our budget being hard-pressed we knew we had to look at how to put it on a sustainable basis in the future. We have to come up with some ideas for the financial year 09-10."

But Labour councillor Paul Denham said the council should find extra money to pay for the rising cost.

He said: "When CCTV was introduced, the council agreed with the police that it would pay the wages of the civilian staff who watch the cameras, while the police would pay for the cost of housing the monitoring equipment.

"I actually feel the police ought to be meeting part of the cost, as they also benefit from the cameras and because the CCTV also provides protection for visitors to Worcester who do not pay their council tax here.

"But it is quite wrong of the leadership to have entered into an agreement with the police and then to suddenly call a halt to it, without finding the funding from elsewhere."

• COMMENT: Cameras are here to stay - live with it