CCTV
National Evaluation of CCTV
This document is published for archival/historical purposes. It will not be updated.
The Home Office CCTV Initiative is part of the Government's on-going Crime Reduction Programme.
Title: National evaluation of CCTV: early findings on scheme implementation - effective practice guide
Author: Scarman Centre National CCTV Evaluation Team
Series: Home Office Statistical Bulletin 5/03
Date published: April 2003
Number of pages: 25
The main objectives of this initiative are to:
To help local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) deploy CCTV in areas identified in local crime audits as having significant crime and disorder problems.
To help to develop the knowledge base on how CCTV can most effectively contribute to reducing crime and disorder.
To support the delivery of local crime reduction strategies and to help the Government's overall aim of reducing crime and the fear of crime, and the specific target of reducing vehicle crime by 30 per cent by 2004.
A total of 684 public space schemes totalling £170 million are being funded. The main areas covered by successful bids are town centres/shopping centres, car parks, residential areas, community shopping areas, hospitals and rail stations.
The National Evaluation of CCTV identifies the early lessons to be learned from the implementation of 17 CCTV projects funded under the Initiative. Those selected to undertake this evaluation represent a cross-section of the areas running the project.
This report aims to assist practitioners setting up similar projects for the first time. At the time of writing, projects are at different stages of implementation, ranging from the early stages of system design to, in a few cases, the operational stage.
The report studies each stage of the project, from the pre-bidding process to the design and technology level.
Some of the findings of the report were:
The projects with the best results tend to be in areas, which have already been identified having a crime/disorder problem. The less successful ones seem to come from partnerships that have tried to identify an area, which fits the statistical requirements of the project.
The type of data used is also highly significant. It is important that the partnership should involve someone with statistical expertise from the start of the project so that they can be sure the statistics they produce match the bidding requirements.
There should be some ground rules set early on in the partnership about which agencies are to take the "lead" on the scheme. It is also important to identify which other parties such as technical advisers are to be used and when their input is going to be necessary.
A process of accountability should be established which allows all parties to know what they are responsible for and who needs to act to address any failing area.
When building the project team it is vital that you include someone with technical knowledge. This may be found within the organisations that form your partnerships, otherwise you may have to look at employing someone from the private sector as a consultant.
Project planners need to encourage dialogue from all members of the community to ensure that CCTV is the best solution to local problems.
Consultation with all interested parties should be seen as an integral part of the partnership process and should continue until the project has finished.
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