Surveillance

CCTV vital tool in helping police

By Jianggan Li | 2 January 2009

One of Europe’s largest CCTV networks helped police detained nearly 800 people over the past year after they were captured on film committing a crime.

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Mark Waterfall, CCTV co-ordinator of the police force for the Scottish Council area of Fife, Fife Constabulary, said “the cameras have become a vital tool in helping officers detect and deter crime”. The operators have recorded 1598 incidents, which is the highest number since the network was launched in 2002, he added.

He further elaborated that the footage captured has led to the detainment of hundreds of people over the past year. “As a percentage of the number of incidents we filmed, the people detained comes out at 47.7 per cent, which is a very healthy figure” Waterfall says.

Being the largest single-fibre network in Europe and covering 12 towns across the United Kingdoms, the network system helps police spot everything from “downright funny to the downright sick”.

“Our operators are very experienced in understanding body language and they can often sense that something’s going to happen before it actually does. The system’s actually registered with the Surveillance Commissioner to prevent and detect crime and to enhance public safety,” emphasises Waterfall.