The Solihull-based security firm which manages the CCTV system of Centro – the transport authority for the West Midlands – reports that it has helped bring a number of offenders to justice.
MAN Commercial Protection provides the operators that monitor Centro’s CCTV system of more than 1000 cameras, featured in the May 2013 print issue of Professional Security magazine. Control room operators have improved performance over the last 18 months. They have recently spotted and provided evidence to bring about the arrest of several offenders on convictions varying from assault to drug dealing.
Sergeant Adrian Brown from the Safer Travel team at West Midlands Police, says: “High definition CCTV footage often identifies offenders so clearly that they are recognisable beyond all reasonable doubt. We have made some significant arrests as a direct result of working in partnership with Centro’s CCTV room.”
Mark Babington, pictured, Safer Travel manager from Centro, says: “Bus travel is very safe these days and offences are few and far between. Your risk of being the victim of crime is just one in every 126,000 bus journeys you take – that’s the equivalent of 525 years of commuting for five days a week. We are working to make that even rarer.
And Michael Sayers, Centro’s CCTV lead, says: “We have CCTV all around our network: at bus and rail stations, bus stops, park and ride sites – all supplemented by mobile CCTV – which is a tremendous asset for the police to detect and catch criminals as they move around. It’s all part of our policy to keep our buses safe and pleasant to travel on at all times.”
Iain McCallister, founder of MAN Commercial Protection, adds: “It’s the vigilance of CCTV operators that provides, not only a powerful deterrent, but also the precious evidence the Police need to convict offenders. No matter how smart the facial recognition software, an operator needs to be permanently alert to take the appropriate steps to either bring about an arrest or ensure CCTV recordings are optimised. That’s difficult throughout a long shift when nothing generally happens. Great CCTV operators have a sort of sixth sense. They recognise when something is not quite right which makes them look again and that’s often how we help catch criminals.”
