The Community Safety House (Centre of Excellence for Crime Prevention) is used by West Midlands crime prevention design advisors to show security to local businesses, schools and local authorities.
With Cougar Monitoring, Vicon and local installers, a ‘typical’ security system of cameras and detectors linked to a remote video response centre (RVRC) has been installed at Brownhills Community Safety House to promote remotely monitored CCTV.
It is also providing awareness training for crime prevention design advisors and crime reduction officers from other police forces. Some ten advisors provide training and advice to the public, and businesses, that includes a two-hour crime prevention discussion and a tour of the house.
Martin Dews, Business Development Officer at Cougar Monitoring has been involved from the outset and with detector manufacturer OPTEX has provided BS8418 awareness training in the West Midlands. He says: “I have worked as an installer for many years and so have contacts in most areas of the sector. When I was asked what technology would be best to install to demonstrate the advantages of remote monitored CCTV, I had no hesitation in recommending OPTEX as I have been using them for years.”
The system that Martin and the Security Design Centre have installed includes a number of OPTEX REDWALL external detectors and a VX402Rec.
PC Darren Robbins says the feedback from those visiting the safety house has been very positive: “More than 3,000 people a year visit the centre and all have found the advice and displays very useful,” he says. “A number of schools in the area have suffered from vandalism and already use CCTV systems but they do not tend to be monitored. We are trying to show how with some minor adjustments the retrospective CCTV can become proactive and actually prevent break-ins or acts of vandalism.”
