This is taken from council documentation:

The Council operates a CCTV system, known as the ‘West Berkshire CCTV System’ comprising a number of cameras installed at strategic locations throughout the district. The Council’s CCTV Policy notes that the use of CCTV in West Berkshire is considered a necessary and suitable tool to help achieve a reduction in crime, reduce fear of crime and improve public safety. The stated objectives of the West Berkshire CCTV System are defined as:

• To help reduce the fear of crime
  
  
• To help deter crime
  
  
• To help detect crime and provide evidential material for court proceedings
  
  
• To deter vandalism
  
  
• To improve public protection
  
  
• To assist in  the overall management of towns where CCTV is sited
  
  
• To enhance community safety, boost the economy and encourage greater use of the town centre / shopping mall etc
  
  
• To assist the Local Authority in its enforcement and regulatory functions within the town centre
  
  
• To assist with traffic management
  
  
• To assist in supporting civil proceedings help detect crime
  
  
• Any other objective agreed by the owners of the scheme.
  
  

And whilst it isn't working properly, we don't get any of that. Yet the council think it is perfectly acceptable to mislead us all, and fail to give an explanation.

Things have gone very quiet on this topic on this and the "other" forum.

The CCTV system for Newbury is still in limbo, and crime particularly in Bartholomew Street appears to be on the increase. There have been several attempted rear entry break ins. Live gas  pipes are still being removed and recently lead was removed from the roof of the Lower Raymond almshouses. They had stacked the lead up ready for transportation but were disturbed by a resident at 3am. Although the lead was recovered, it is still going to cost thousands of pounds to put it back.

Apparently (but not officially disclosed or confirmed) the problem has been attributed to the control centre at Windsor being unable to cope with the extra cameras from West Berkshire.

I have a customer who has installed a CCTV system for less than £750 in his house and garden which he can manipulate from the other side of the world via the internet. It appears that we can't get a camera to work between Newbury and Windsor for what now must be running into tens of thousands of pounds and untold man/woman hours.

I just don't understand it. As I said before, I've seen supermarkets with 20 year old cameras linked to a monitoring point via a simple data box. There will be more on this next week I should think.

Presumably we can claim compensation from Her Majesties Royal Borough and get the whole thing properly tendered?

Any chance of reinstalling the old system and just replacing the recorders?

Quoted from richard.garvie

I just don't understand it. As I said before, I've seen supermarkets with 20 year old cameras linked to a monitoring point via a simple data box. There will be more on this next week I should think.

Why is it we never seem to get any information from our council?
Has anyone tried to get an answer from them through other means?
I have asked for information through the Freedom of Information Act but that takes up to twenty days. The last time I tried this they did not even answer the questions that I asked? Sent off another request and of course another twenty days before I got the more or less same answer!
They just seem to go round in circles and are answerable to no one?

Why pay for a service that is apparently as much use as a chocolate fireguard?
That is not saving money it is wasting it; they may just as well have scrapped the CCTV and been honest about it.

But unless they give precise details of course all taxpayers are still in the dark.

The longer the secrecy continues the more suspicious one gets?

I think it is because the 'prudent' Tories have screwed-up this time.

"The CCTV system for Newbury is still in limbo, and crime particularly in Bartholomew Street appears to be on the increase."

I too have spoken to retailers and hear there have been lots of break-ins in Bart street (south end) - but there are no cameras there anyway ??!!

Quoted from PaulaM

I too have spoken to retailers and hear there have been lots of break-ins in Bart street (south end) - but there are no cameras there anyway ??!!

This is mysterious, there is a claim from TVP that they have some sort of CCTV coverage of the recent break in at the cycle shop. The nearest camera to be anywhere in line of sight would be on the St Johns Cycleway.

There is £32,000 available for improvements to facilities in Bart Street courtesy of Southern Gas Networks over-running time on their recent excavations. WBC have refused to use it for CCTV, but apparently they have offered the retailers to use it for a bus shelter.

Quoted from BrianB

There is £32,000 available for improvements to facilities in Bart Street courtesy of Southern Gas Networks over-running time on their recent excavations. WBC have refused to use it for CCTV, but apparently they have offered the retailers to use it for a bus shelter.

Isn't that a little overpriced for a bus shelter. Cost £10k, £22k left over for WBC. Nice little earner.

[quote=2]

This is mysterious, there is a claim from TVP that they have some sort of CCTV coverage of the recent break in at the cycle shop. The nearest camera to be anywhere in line of sight would be on the St Johns Cycleway.

There is £32,000 available for improvements to facilities in Bart Street courtesy of Southern Gas Networks over-running time on their recent excavations. WBC have refused to use it for CCTV, but apparently they have offered the retailers to use it for a bus shelter.

Sounds like a good idea? A bus shelter if placed in the right place would shelter some of the druggies when they are waiting for their supply of Methadone at the southern end of Bart Street?

What would be more use to the retailers? A bus shelter or CCTV coverage? If the rumours are true regarding the CCTV then probably no point spending it on the CCTV is there as it doesn't work anyway? Bus shelter for non existent bus passengers???

Perhaps copy the St John's roundabout markings onto the mini roundabout by Craven Road?  

[quote=2]

This is mysterious, there is a claim from TVP that they have some sort of CCTV coverage of the recent break in at the cycle shop. The nearest camera to be anywhere in line of sight would be on the St Johns Cycleway.

There is £32,000 available for improvements to facilities in Bart Street courtesy of Southern Gas Networks over-running time on their recent excavations. WBC have refused to use it for CCTV, but apparently they have offered the retailers to use it for a bus shelter.

Sounds like a good idea? A bus shelter if placed in the right place would shelter some of the druggies when they are waiting for their supply of Methadone at the southern end of Bart Street?

What would be more use to the retailers? A bus shelter or CCTV coverage? If the rumours are true regarding the CCTV then probably no point spending it on the CCTV is there as it doesn't work anyway? Bus shelter for non existent bus passengers???

Perhaps copy the St John's roundabout markings onto the mini roundabout by Craven Road?  

Quoted from BrianB

This is mysterious, there is a claim from TVP that they have some sort of CCTV coverage of the recent break in at the cycle shop. The nearest camera to be anywhere in line of sight would be on the St Johns Cycleway.

There is £32,000 available for improvements to facilities in Bart Street courtesy of Southern Gas Networks over-running time on their recent excavations. WBC have refused to use it for CCTV, but apparently they have offered the retailers to use it for a bus shelter.

A bus shelter !!!???? Dont't make me laugh - is that somewhere for the drunks & druggies to shelter ?

Quoted from PaulaM

A bus shelter !!!???? Dont't make me laugh - is that somewhere for the drunks & druggies to shelter ?

A bus shelter or something similar. Something that would enhance the street?

Suggestions please.

Quoted from BrianB

Live gas  pipes are still being removed

This has the potential of being quite lethal, not only to the thief cutting through the pipe, but also to the occupants of the building.

There is the possibility of a gas explosion and fire unless this person/s is caught as quickly as possible.

Quoted from BrianB

A bus shelter or something similar. Something that would enhance the street?  Suggestions please.

Rent holiday for those businesses inconvenienced by the works?

How about some WBC crests for the lamp posts?

Extra Crimbo lights?

Italian granite floor?

A full time parking warden?

A working CCTV system

Quoted from brian

A working CCTV system

Or employ a CCTV operator!

Quoted from 26

How about some WBC crests for the lamp posts?

How to improve Barts Street (South)........stop allowing take-aways and cheap alcohol sale, stop dispensing methadone.  Start including that part of town in "Town Centre" Events - with the exception of the carnival procession everything else starts at the clock tower and ends in the market place. Program roadworks efficiently ...... they will be fibre optic cable laying next.  Stop painting/re-painting St Johns roundabout. Abolish the 50% business rates increase ........... oh yeah and some hanging baskets would be nice ! Hanging baskets were offered by town council ...... the hanging brackets were somewhere in the region of £50 ..... that's £50 just for the bracket ...... that of course is if you are allowed to hang them ..... apparently that is debatable if the building is listed ... first you need permission from WBC.

Stop the parking wardens hunting in packs ...... need I go on ?

I seem to remember the landlady of The Bricklayers ( you know, the pub that was one of the best kept establishments in town before it became The Purple Lounge !!   ), being told to take her Hanging baskets down in case someone bumped their head on them.

Quoted from Greenham Common

A full time parking warden?

Quoted from PaulaM

Stop the parking wardens hunting in packs ...... need I go on ?

'kinell... Make yer minds up guys.. You want them, you don't want them.... or should it be you only want them when it suits you...

And I thought common parlance was 'Green Meanies'.. What's all this 'Parking Wardens' nonsense?

Perhaps I was not being altogether serious?

May I suggest that the business join together to lobby the council to spend the £32,000 on two CCTV cameras on Bart Street. They have said very clearly that they will not allow it, but wasn't a portion of that money offerred to traders as compensation before? If everyone in that areas joins togther, it will be hard for them not to listen. As was mentioned elsewhere, if it's not spent on CCTV, what will it be spent on?

I have been trying to post recently on the Newbury Today website about the ongoing problems with CCTV in Newbury.

My posting was subsequently removed (very quickly) and my account was then disabled. Has anyone else had similar problems?

Is there some sort of collusion going on with the West Berkshire councillors and our local newspaper to hush up the CCTV problems?

I don't have these problems, so I'm not sure there is.

Quoted from Greenham Common

I don't have these problems, so I'm not sure there is.

I expect User has been having a word with them on behalf of WBC as he thinks there is no one wants to complain about the CCTV?  

Quoted from scaramouche

My posting was subsequently removed (very quickly) and my account was then disabled. Has anyone else had similar problems?

The best way to avoid being deleted from any of the local forums is to post with a sensible name and register with a genuine email address.

If you look at our recent members listing, you will find that there are a multitude of peculiar names, none of which have a genuine email address. All of these will soon be purged.

NWN was the subject of a pornographic posting recently, which is not a good image for a local newspaper.

If you feel that your removal was not justified, I suggest that you email the editor editor@newburynews.co.uk

Crikey, you go away for a a fortnight, and look what happens...

Ah well, back to the topic (kinda)

Of the 120 (approx) cameras that we used to have monitored, 40 (approx) are now being monitored in Windsor.

The recording quailty there is much better using the digital system, alas, the picture quality being sent down the line is worse. This is because Councillor Stanfield failed to understand the difference between optical and digital zooms and the limitations of the later. (how long before he claims he was 'duped')

The system has been being tested over the last few weeks.

Here's the interesting bit..

Although it would seem that certain people have been busy saying that it's all 'up and working' The implication being that the town is being watched, alas, this is not so.

The system is actually not 'going live' until Monday 14th Feb. So, another weekend with little or no monitoring then.


Threep.

Quoted from Threepwood

Although it would seem that certain people have been busy saying that it's all 'up and working' The implication being that the town is being watched, alas, this is not so.

The system is actually not 'going live' until Monday 14th Feb. So, another weekend with little or no monitoring then.


Threep.

And obviously because of this, there is no recording of the recent incident in Bartholomew Street. It might still go live on Monday, but compared to the old system will be totally useless.

Time will tell, but I suspect you're right.


Threep.

Quoted from scaramouche

And obviously because of this, there is no recording of the recent incident in Bartholomew Street. It might still go live on Monday, but compared to the old system will be totally useless.

Yet still the council are refusing an investigation? The spin is still on saying everything is working and they have reduced costs? Even an idiot would know that they could have saved even more by scrapping the system rather than having to pay for a system that is next to useless?

Just what do the council have to do before there is an investigation into what they are doing?

JUST ask anyone who works in security,as I did, whether they miss the localised CCTV,and they will tell you yyyyyyes!

Quoted from Uncle

JUST ask anyone who works in security,as I did, whether they miss the localised CCTV,and they will tell you yyyyyyes!

But WBC have cut costs that is the most important issue? They fail to understand if you are getting something that is worthless and it is costing you money then that is actually not saving anything?

The only people that are saying everything is OK with the system is WBC even some of their own staff and contractors have admitted things are definitely not right; oh and of course Lord Haw Haw alias User .