Agenda item

The concerns of some Members of the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee were noted regarding the potential impact on Crime and Disorder if the recommendation to reduce active monitoring of the CCTV cameras, as detailed within the circulated report, was supported.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Democratic Services confirmed that regular reports on crime figures would be brought back to the Cabinet Board and Scrutiny Committee for information so that Members could monitor whether the perceived risk was materialising.

Decisions:

1.              That the Head of Corporate Strategy and Democratic Services be authorised to consult with key stakeholders and the wider public on the preferred option (as detailed within the circulated report) to reduce the number of cameras across the county borough and to move the monitoring service to a demand-led model which would ordinarily mean monitoring taking place on weekends and bank holidays only, the consultation to run for a period of six weeks with a further report to be presented to Members of the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet Board, describing the outcome of the consultation, in December 2015;

2.              That the Head of Corporate Strategy and Democratic Services be authorised to develop a full business case with the City and County of Swansea that tests the cost-benefits of establishing a joint CCTV service on a:

i)                CCTV only scope;

ii)              CCTV plus other monitoring scope.

3.              That the Head of Corporate Strategy and Democratic Services be authorised to identify alternative options for delivery of the out-of-hours call handling services, in the event of the preferred option being supported.

Reason for Decisions:

To develop further the proposals set out in the Authority’s Budget 2015-16 – 2017-18 to make further savings in the cost of CCTV to the Council and provide the best value for money option.

Implementation of Decisions:

The decisions will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

A public consultation exercise on the options contained within the Cabinet Board report considered by Members on February 19^th 2015 has taken place, and Town and Community Councils have also been consulted.